When It Rains
by JDPhoenix
Summary: The continuation of Be Careful What You Wish For. This story picks up just where the other left off, showing the repercussions of the Rangers' actions. Ashley and Andros try to make things work, Phantom has a duty, Carlos has issues, etc. etc.
1. Chapter 1 Confrontation

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Ranger. I do however own Garthon, sadly.

Summary: The continuation/sequel of Be Careful What You Wish For…. This chronicles the events taking place in the Rangers lives directly and several months after BCWYWF ended. You really need to read that to understand why people act the way they do and where some people came from.

Author's Note: Yes, I'm back. Unfortunately, I got a job about a month after BCWYWF ended and between that and school I didn't have time for much else. But thankfully I finished at Community College last month and left my job a week ago so I've finally had time to write. This is all done. There'll be one chapter a day, except for one (hopefully only one) where I feel you need two so that you don't hit me with sticks because of the pointlessness. But I made the chapter long, I think, so it all works out. These chapters are longer than before, slightly, and the entire story is twenty-five pages longer. I'm proud. I warn you, I have this annoying habit in this story of telling you events have already happened, sometimes I go back and show you everything, but mostly I make you find everything out with the new people. You'll get it by the end. If you know what I'm talking about and you hate that, sorry. Anyway, thanks for hanging with me so long. I hope you enjoy!

**When It Rains… **

**Chapter 1 - Confrontation**

"No one ever said this was gonna be easy," Jeff muttered as he pulled himself up over the side of just the latest in a long series of rocks.

He was in the Andes, climbing this blasted mountain for what felt like the third time. Although technically, it was. A long series of wishes had caused him to have to do this again: scale a mountain, save a village, get super powers. It was getting old really. But Jeff knew that if everything had been reset again, then the village was in danger again and someone had to save it. Plus, he wasn't sure he liked not having the power. The Infinity powers, as their name implied, were forever. There was no passing them on, not until you died that is, and Jeff wasn't dead yet.

Jeff thought back on everything that had led him here. A long series of wishes made to an alien genie had effectively changed the course of history – twice. First his sister had been kidnapped by some alien bounty hunter and he had sought out the Infinity power in an attempt to find her, and then after he made a wish someone else ended up being kidnapped. It appeared that no matter what anyone did, on one lazy afternoon, on the fifth day of Aquitar's thirtieth S'let cycle, a young child would be kidnapped by the being known as Darkonda.

Jeff sighed as he pulled himself onto level ground once more. There was a village here; he remembered children playing, adults working, the occasional llama meandering past. None of that was here now. The houses were still there, but an eerie wind blew through the air, emphasizing the missing life. It seemed that in this, the apparently original version of reality no one had managed to defeat Garthon.

'Life just sucks everywhere, doesn't it?' Jeff thought.

Jeff gathered up his gear and made his way through the village. He didn't know what he expected to find. When he had come to this village before there had always been people. It was the eve of Garthon's return then and he had managed to tap into the ancient power that had defeated him centuries before. It was now several months after Garthon's scheduled return and return he obviously had. What he had done with the village however, remained a mystery.

Jeff approached the tomb at the village's center. It wasn't much, just a stone box made to keep the ancient evil in. Still, it gave Jeff the creeps as he walked inside.

"Ah," a deep, booming voice said as Jeff came into the darkness, "a new slave. I was getting so bored with the old ones."

"Hello Garthon," Jeff muttered as he walked around the room. Garthon had worked his magic it seemed, to make the room bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. Jeff seriously thought he could fit the entire population of Angel Grove Community College in that room and still have space for a couple of big rigs.

"My reputation precedes me," Garthon said, pride making his voice even more disturbing.

"Actually no," Jeff said, fingering a spear that hung on the wall. "In an alternate version of reality I already beat you, actually that happened in two alternate versions of reality. So now I'm gonna have to ask you to bring the villagers back and leave this dimension."

Garthon looked at the boy before him for a moment. He was young, strong, obviously had the attention of more than one woman, but all in all he was still a boy. And even if he were a man, Garthon had defeated men much stronger than this one could ever be. Honestly, the boy was wearing the most ridiculous outfit and had no weapons with him at all.

The evil lord laughed. "You are a most amusing human. For that I will not send you to the Sweltering Heat and Painful Light Dimension; instead I will keep you here to amuse me."

"No," Jeff said nonchalantly as he stepped before the evil overlord, "I think I'm gonna beat you."

"And how-?"

"Infinity Power!" Jeff yelled.

There was a minute of silence. "What was that supposed to do?" Garthon asked.

"Um," Jeff had never thought that this would be a problem. In both realities before this he had managed to get the Infinity Powers, but now-

"Okay," Jeff said, "I'll beat you without super powers. It's not like I'm completely incapable."

* * *

"I'm completely incapable," Jeff muttered. He was chained to the floor in that same room with Garthon seated high above him, blathering on and on about how great he was.

"And then I swallowed his pet bird whole," Garthon said. "That's when he got really mad and charged at me. He ended up getting impaled on the back of his spear, quite sad really."

Jeff sighed, wondering what had gone wrong. Garthon was supposed to be nothing more than a giant ball of goo that had centuries ago figured out how to change his shape. Beating him should have been easy! After having to deal with a little sister who had been turned evil, then the same little sister never being evil but being love slave to an evil prince, defeating a giant metamorphic ball of goo should have been easy, especially since he'd done it twice before!

'Maybe he's gotten more power in the extra months of freedom,' Jeff thought, 'or maybe I'm really nothing without the Infinity Powers.

'No!' Jeff's inner voice cried. 'I can't give up! Those villagers are counting on me! The world (theoretically) is counting on me! I must defeat him, even if I have to die doing it! Because like Yoda said, "There is no try, there is only do."'

Jeff stood, heedless of his chains to face his enemy. The beast was now in the form of a man, what he preferred Jeff had found, and if there was one thing Jeff Hammond understood, it was men. 'Thank God he didn't turn into a woman,' Jeff thought, stepping forward.

It was then that Garthon noticed his slave's movements and stopped his stirring tale of evil triumphing over good. Jeff, despite his lack of a plan or any clear train of thought for that matter, managed to hurl himself at Garthon with impressive speed and strength. The evil being got ready to chuckle, remembering the chain that held the boy firmly to the floor.

At just the moment when the chain should have gone taut and pulled Jeff back to the ground with striking effectiveness, something amazing happened. A great light filled the room, the sound of a chain shattering could be heard, and before Garthon could figure out what was going on a fist went through his head, shattering the back of his throne.

"How?" the gurgling voice of Garthon's true form asked as he slithered away from this new and familiar threat.

"I do not really know," Jeff said, "but you are going to fix things!"

"Of- of course," the goo slithered over to the wall where it reached up to touch a strange stone set there. The stone glowed and three figures appeared in the room, just as the sounds of people began to flow in from outside.

The room shrank back to its original size as the three new men gazed upon the figure before them. This was the warrior of old, the legendary savior of the village. His thick armor seemed to give off a light of its own and while there was a sword at his side, he had not yet had need to draw it.

"What are you going to do now?" the figure asked the pile of goo before them, much as an angry mother would ask a naughty child.

"Leave this dimension," the goo said sheepishly. It reached up to the crystal once more but before it disappeared it called out, "I will return Ranger! And when I do I will have my revenge on you and you alone!"

"Blah, blah, blah," the Ranger muttered as his armor faded. "Hi," he said, noticing the men for the first time. He recognized them from his previous adventures as the village elder and the village's two strongest warriors.

* * *

Ashley Hammond was happy for what was perhaps the first time in thirty years, despite the fact that she was only seventeen years old. She had survived three lifetimes and found that her heart always rested in the same place: with Andros, the Red Ranger of KO-35. Said Ranger was sitting across the table from her and making a rather valiant effort to eat his breakfast while ignoring her constant stare. He was not being rude, he was simply trying to preserve himself. He knew, from experience, that if he looked up at her she would capture him in those eyes of hers and he would never finish his meal.

Unfortunately for Andros, DECA suddenly broke the silence of the Jump Bay, surprising him into looking up.

"What is it DECA?" Ashley asked, snapping Andros out of his sudden stupor.

"There is an urgent transmission for Ashley from Tanya Sloan."

"Put it through," Andros said.

"Audio only."

Tanya's voice came over the speaker. "Ashley?"

"Yeah, I'm here. What's wrong?"

"Your parents have been freaking out. A couple days ago your brother just walked out of one of his classes. When your parents got home that night there was a note saying that he was fine and he'd be back by the end of the month. They found out that he-"

"He went to Peru, didn't he?" Ashley sighed.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Tanya asked, the confussion evident in her voice.

"Have you talked to Justin lately?"

"No, but I heard something weird happened to him right around the time Jeff went AWOL."

"Yeah," Ashley said guiltily, "we should probably explain to everyone."

"We've already compiled a list of all the people we need to explain things to," Carlos said, walking into the Bay and over to the synthetron. "We'll be contacting everyone in the next couple of days."

"Ooookay," Tanya said, obviously still confused. "So, you can handle the Jeff thing?"

"Yeah, we can handle it," Ashley sighed.

"Good. Now, I gotta go."

"See ya Tanya."

"So..." Carlos offered after a moment of silence.

Ashley grimaced. "DECA? Can you scan the Andes for any unusual activity?"

"Of course. Scanning... There is evidence to suggest that very recently a rather large amount of dark energy coalesced in the mountain range. That energy has since disappeared to be replaced by a faint power signature."

"Are there people around the holder of the power?"

"No, he appears to be climbing down a rather large mountain."

"Teleport him here please."

"Of course."

There was a flash of silvery black light and a man in many layers of clothing and climbing gear fell onto the floor next to the table.

"Hey Jeff," Ashley said, her face lit with a brilliant smile.

"Ashley!" Jeff cried, jumping up and giving his sister a snowy hug. "It's great to see you again! I've been worried, a lot."

"I know, but everything's fine now." Ashley showed her brother to a chair and ordered him a plate of all his breakfast favorites. When she turned to give it to him she stopped dead. Carlos too, had frozen where he was, a look of worry and fear, for who Ashley wasn't sure, on his face.

Andros and Jeff were having some sort of staring contest.

After what seemed to Ashley to be an eternity, Jeff spoke. "Ashley is my little sister."

"I know," Andros said. He said nothing more so Jeff decided to speak again, but was cut off. "I know how it feels to be an older brother. I know the responsibility and the fear. And I know how it feels to have a younger sibling fighting in a battle. I also know how it feels to have a little sister who thinks she's fallen in love. But I promise you, I will do everything in my power to make Ashley happy, even if that means letting her go to someone else. And I will keep her safe, no matter what."

Jeff was silent for a very long time. "Okay," he finally said smiling. "Now don't tell me you Space Rangers just teleport people off the sides of mountains, then refuse to feed them!"

"Of course not," Ashley laughed. As she sat down next to her brother she gave Andros a shy smile.

"I'll just be calling – everyone," Carlos said, sidling out of the room.

* * *

"This is so unfair," Garthon muttered. The evil overlord was floating in a rather swirly dimension. "I was so close to being free. Just a few more slaves and I would have had enough energy to leave the mountain. And then that boy had to come along in all his cockiness. I should have crushed him when he started talking about alternate realities and-" Garthon brightened, his gelatinous body took on a bluish-green hue and if he had had a mouth at that moment, he would have smiled wickedly. "There is only one being in the universe capable of doing something like that- Rissai." The giant goo-thing headed across the expanse to his ultimate destiny. 


	2. Chapter 2 Departures

Disclaimer: I still do not own Power Rangers. I do still own Garthon and Rissai. And, for the record, I do not own the Beetleborgs either (shut up, I was young, I liked the show and still retain fond feelings towards it, probably because I haven't seen it since). I do not own Prince Dex.

Author's Note: Okay, this was supposed to be up this morning but ffn was being mean. On that note I am posting the chapters on my website whenever I post them here so that I keep with my one a day schedule. So if the next chapter isn't up you can go there.

Also, a special note to anyone: If you read BCWYWF and didn't review because I was already done, why? I love getting reviews long after I finished posting a story, it makes me happy and I'm sure other authors love it. Just so you know. Now go and enjoy!

**When It Rains… **

**Chapter 2 - Departures**

The meeting with all of those involved in the recent reality-changing crisis had to be held in a mansion just outside of Charterville to accommodate some of the Beetleborgs' more – colorful friends. And even then, the number of people involved was so great that the Astro Rangers had to stand in front of the orange grove and speak to a grouping of Rangers, alien princes, monsters, and a communication device meant to transmit the proceedings to Aquitar and Triforia.

"And I smashed the tube like Zordon asked," Andros finished. "Any questions?"

A hand appeared from one of the house's upper windows.

"Any questions that don't involve eating people?" Drew, the Gold Beetleborg asked without even seeing the hand, which promptly disappeared.

"I believe we understand the basics of what happened," Prince Dex said.

"Good," Carlos muttered, "because that was a long story."

"Yeah," Cassie said, "can we go back to normal life now?"

"'Normal,' right," Rocky chuckled from the porch.

Everyone had a good laugh at that but no one left right away, they all stayed behind, swapping stories of incompetent bad guys and saving the world.

For the next few weeks there were rumors that some sort of cult or clandestine organization was meeting at Hillhurst and the Beetleborgs had trouble getting back. But other than that life did go back to normal. The retired Rangers, those who attended the meeting, went back to college or whatever it was they were doing with their lives, and the Astro Rangers went back to defending the galaxy.

Unfortunately, Dark Specter knew what was hidden on Vega 3, so he remembered the other two versions of reality as well as the Rangers did. He quickly disowned Astronema and destroyed the Dark Fortress, just to be safe. Astronema moved onto the MegaShip and Ecliptor, ever loyal, followed. Zhane woke up, and began telling Andros about his "crazy dream" but was cut off when Ashley and Karone walked into the Medical Bay. Jeff finished off his semester in college then went back, if that is in fact the proper term, to cruising around the galaxy as a lone Ranger. The war against Dark Specter continued much as it had before and life seemed to reach a content medium.

* * *

'Just a little farther,' Garthon thought to himself. 

He had managed to punch a hole in the dimensional barrier several light years from his original position and was now trying to squeeze through. Fortunately, Garthon had been the one to seal himself back in this dimension, so he was free to leave it whenever he wished. And luckily, it wasn't as hard to punch the hole as most people thought. If there was a significant enough amount of power on the other side of the point at which you wanted to cross and that power was not being set to the task of creating a barrier of some sort any being of sufficient power could break through dimensions. Unfortunately though, the power Garthon was using was being guarded by another power, so he was having a harder time than he would have liked.

Luckily though, being metamorphic goo made it possible to fit through even the tiniest hole.

Garthon landed in all his gooey glory on the dirt floor of a rather large, pitch black hole. Garthon quickly turned into an Aquillian cave beast because of its sonar abilities. He "looked" up and saw the stone ceiling above.

"Right, I forgot," he muttered, jumping up and squeezing between the cracks in stones, "you have to make the floor fall to wake her up."

Several minutes later, after Garthon had tripped the trap that made the floor fall the thirty feet into the hole, Rissai appeared.

"I am Ri-" the woman began in her lilting and slightly provocative voice, but stopped dead when she laid eyes on the man before her. "Garthon? Is that you?"

"In the metamorphic flesh," Garthon smirked.

"So you finally escaped from that pocket dimension."

"Eh, not exactly. I did, but was defeated by a young man who mentioned alternate realities. I assume that you had something to do with that."

"Oh, that," Rissai lounged against the wall. "The Rangers found me. One of them made some stupid wish to get his sister back and- oh, it's a long story."

"No, no!" Garthon insisted. "I have a wish Rissai, you know all my power's stuck on that blasted mountain."

"So, you want it back?"

"Not just that, I want to hurt that insolent Infinity Ranger. I want to rip his world apart. And if you want, I'll torture your enemies on the way to him, so long as you don't mess up my wish."

A wicked glint came into Rissai's eye. "My only enemies are Rangers, more precisely the ones who most recently visited me. And, if you're going to hurt Infinity, you can hurt them at the same time. I'll tell you everything you need to know about the Infinity Ranger, about all those other timelines, and when you make your wish… we'll both have our revenge."

* * *

"Dark Specter has moved out of the galaxy," Airek said, gently pulling back Cassie's hair. The couple was sitting in the grass in Angel Grove Park, enjoying the sunshine. 

"I know, but we can't be too careful," Cassie said sadly. "What if he left because there was something else here? Of what if he's pulled back only to come back stronger than before?"

"I know," Airek said, sorrow evident in his voice. "He still has Zordon." Airek let the statement hang for a moment before going on. "I need to go after him."

"What!" Cassie whirled around to look up into the face she had loved before ever seeing.

"I have to, Cassie. It is my duty. I-"

"Let me come."

"What?" It was Airek's turn to be shocked. "You cannot. You have your team…."

"The team can survive without me. They've got Zhane, Karone, and Ecliptor now, not to mention the Infinity Ranger. That's more than a basic Ranger team."

"But I am a lone Ranger."

"Even lone Rangers need companions sometimes. Don't think I've forgotten how you and Jeff used to hang out together. Plus, did you really think that this whole 'lone Ranger' thing was going to last after we… found each other?"

"I never thought," Airek muttered, averting his eyes.

"You never thought about what things would be like?"

"No. I never dared to dream that you felt the way I did- the way I do."

Cassie smiled. "Well, I do." She pulled his face back toward her. "And I am going to go tell the others that I am leaving in…?"

"Two days."

"Two days. Sounds good."

Cassie bounded a few feet before stopping, looking around, and opening her morpher. "First thing's first," she said mischievously. "DECA? This is a priority order. Do not allow Phantom Ranger's ship to leave without my okay."

Airek could hear DECA's verification of the order. He sighed as Cassie hurried off to find her friends. "It's a good thing my ship's bigger on the inside than on the outside."

* * *

"I'm gonna miss you," Ashley said, hugging Cassie close. The Rangers had thrown a going away party for their departing friends and were now saying their last goodbyes. 

"I'm gonna miss you too," Cassie said, giving a final squeeze and pulling away. "Karone," Cassie turned to the reformed princess. "You help Ash keep these boys in line, will you?"

"Of course," Karone said, giving Cassie a tentative but loving hug.

"Bye Cassie," Carlos said, stepping forward. "Remember, you have to write down the exact time that you finally get this guy to laugh."

"I will," Cassie agreed, silently adding, 'as soon as I remember when it was.'

"Stay safe," T.J. said, hugging Cassie and giving Phantom a look that plainly said the former lone Ranger was expected to make sure she did.

"I always do," Cassie protested, laughing. "Andros."

The Karovian extended his hand. "Goodbye, and good luck."

"Thanks, keep the ship in one piece, will you?"

"DECA will," Andros smiled.

"And I'll make sure Andros is kept in one piece, I owe him that much," Zhane laughed, giving Cassie a bear hug.

"Good, I know someone who will appreciate that," the Pink Ranger whispered in his ear.

"Goodbye Alpha," she hugged the android. "Goodbye to you too DECA," Cassie smiled up at the camera. "I think I may miss you the most. And tell Ecliptor I said bye too."

"Of course. Goodbye Cassie," the ship answered.

Everyone waved and shouted their goodbyes as Cassie and Phantom boarded their ship.

"I'm going to miss them all," Cassie sighed as they pulled out of the hanger bay.

"It's not too late, you can still go back."

"Yeah right," Cassie said, kicking the back of the pilot's seat. "I can hear it in your voice, you'd miss me too much."

"Really, because I was just trying to contain my hope that I'd get your Galaxy Glider out of my engine room."

"It is not my fault that there is a serious lacking of space on this ship. I was lucky you had an extra bedroom for me."

"Yes, you were," Phantom said, a deeper meaning evident in his tone.

"What kind of woman do you take me for?"

"You are no woman Cassie Chan you are an experience, the like of which most men can only dream of."

Cassie sighed. "You do know how to end an argument, don't you?"

"I did spend time with people once Cassie."

"Mmhmm."

"Have a nice nap."

"I will."


	3. Chapter 3 Fortunes

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Garthon, Shreefang, various planets and geographic things, and the mercenaries, I think they're mentioned in this chapter. I do not own the example fortunes either, they were all ones that I got. The ones that the Rangers and Karone got however, I did make up.**  
**

**When It Rains… **

**Chapter 3 - Fortune**

"Phantom Ranger has left the galaxy milord."

"Are you sure?"

"My scouts report that a ripple was seen moving through the Teruthian Forest on Elsnar."

"Good. We will soon be able to make our move. With two Rangers away we have only to draw the former princess and her guardian away from Earth."

"Two Rangers? But sir, what other Ranger has left Earth? If I may be so bold…."

"The Pink Ranger would not allow the Phantom Ranger to leave her, not after all that has happened."

"Ah, of course sir."

"Now, send the Melorian mercenaries to the Karovian rebels, they should cause enough of a stir to bring out the princess. And, just to make sure the entire team doesn't go, send Shreefang to Angel Grove, she should distract the Rangers."

"Yes milord. All will be done as you have said."

"Excellent."

* * *

"Who knew two guys who had never played basketball could do so well against two guys who have played it every week since they were five," Ashley said.

She and Karone were sitting on the bleachers in the park, watching Andros and Zhane play against T.J. and Carlos.

"I don't know about Andros," Karone said, "but Zhane's cheating."

"What?" Ashley balked. "How?"

"Well, I don't know if cheating's the word since no one, well, almost no one, on Earth can do telekinesis, but I don't think it's fair since T.J. and Carlos aren't part of that minority."

"Zhane can do telekinesis?" Ashley asked, awestruck at the idea.

"We all can, didn't you know?"

"No."

"Wow." Both girls continued watching the game for a moment before Karone burst out, "Andros is an idiot."

"Why?"

"Because, if any other guy in the galaxy wanted to get with an alien girl he would use all of his great alien-ness to get on her good side, but he doesn't. He's an idiot."

"Well, maybe he's just not very good-"

"No. He is _very_ good. Out of the three of us, he's the most powerful. And you will recall, power was important where I used to live, so that's saying something. He's just being an idiot." Karone emphasized her statement by swishing her hand slightly to the left just as Zhane made a shot: the ball swerved slightly left of where it should have been.

"Wow," Ashley said simply.

"All right!" Carlos cried. "Game's over!"

"Good," T.J. agreed, "I'm wiped. Who would have thought you two were so good at a game you've never played?"

"Yeah," Karone said as Zhane sat down next to her, "who would have thought?"

Zhane simply smirked and, unable to contain his mirth, laughed.

"Who won?" Ashley asked.

"No one," T.J. said, "we ended on a tie. And we are not going back out!" he called as Zhane began to rise.

"Oh fine," the Silver Ranger moped, then quickly slipped into curiosity with, "I'm hungry."

"Me too," Carlos said.

"I'll get something," Ashley said, getting up. "You boys just rest."

Zhane kicked Andros and gave him a look. "I'll – come too," the Red Ranger said uncertainly.

"Great," Ashley said, grabbing Andros' arm. "Let's go."

"Should we drive?" Andros asked as they approached the parking lot.

"No, there's a great little Chinese place a couple blocks away. Even if we did drive it would take longer to find a place to park than to walk over."

"Okay."

The two walked on in silence for some time before Ashley stepped in front of Andros and stopped, forcing him to look at her. "You're avoiding me."

"No I'm not."

"Yes, you are. Cassie and Phantom are light years away together and Zhane and Karone are always laughing with each other, but you and me? We just…." Ashley sighed, unable to explain.

"I know that we don't do things like the others do but – that's not the way I am. I'm slow and I need time and-"

"And I understand that. But, well, we've been through a lot and I'd like a boyfriend who at least holds my hand or looks at me every so often."

"Boyfriend?"

"Well, that's what you are isn't it? How else would you describe our relationship?"

"I- I guess you're right."

"Good. Then we'll go to dinner. Friday."

"Okay," Andros said, trying to keep up.

"Maybe even a movie."

"Movie, good."

"Good," Ashley agreed, and started walking once more.

"Wait," Andros said, catching up, "what just happened?"

"Well," Ashley said, not stopping, "we decided that we're boyfriend and girlfriend and that the best way to portray that fact would be to go to dinner on Friday."

"That… sounds good."

"I thought you'd agree."

* * *

"I knew it would be Chinese food," Carlos said, taking a bit of an egg roll.

"How?" Zhane asked.

"Because-"

"Don't say it!" Ashley cried throwing a still-packaged fortune cookie at her friend.

"Because," Carlos continued as if nothing had happened, "Ashley always gets Chinese if she can choose."

"It's your favorite, what's wrong with that?" Zhane asked, turning to face the embarrassed Ranger.

"Nothing," T.J. said, "if it's your favorite based on taste."

"It does taste good!" Ashley protested.

"But that's not why you always get it!"

"Oh," Ashley moaned, and Karone could hear her mutter something about bigmouthed pink rangers.

"Why does she?" Zhane asked, earning a shove from Karone. "Come on, why?" he asked again when he'd recovered his balance.

"Because every fortune Ashley has ever gotten had something to do with love," Carlos said dramatically.

"That's sweet, but what does it mean?" Karone asked.

"Well," T.J. said, "you know these little weird-shaped cookies we told you not to open? They have little slips of paper inside and on each piece is a little saying like 'You will take a long journey soon,' or 'Use your natural talents to obtain more.' They're supposed to tell you your future or what would be the best path for you to take, something like that."

"That is sweet then," Karone said. "Can we open our cookies now?"

"Sure," Carlos said.

"'There is always hope, even when you cannot see the light,'" T.J. said.

"'A warrior is not only measured by the strength of his sword, but by the strength of his spirit,'" Zhane read. "Huh, pretty cool. What does yours say?" he asked Karone.

"'It is the stronger person who turns away from evil, than who turns away from good.'"

"Sometimes they're accurate," Carlos said.

"Yeah," T.J. agreed. "Especially now. Ever since I became a Ranger all my fortunes have had a bearing on my own life. What does yours say Ashley?"

"'True love once won must still be fought for.' What does yours say Andros?"

"I don't have one."

"The machine must have just missed one," Carlos said. "You can have mine."

"No, that's okay," Andros said slowly. After a moment of silence he began gathering the empty containers and taking them to the trash.

Ashley followed with her own armload, saying, "Karone said that Zhane cheated, that he used telekinesis to help you two do so well."

"Yeah," Andros agreed, his mood lightening, "I thought as much."

"I didn't know you guys could do that."

"Oh, well…."

One of the boxes Ashley was dumping into the can bounced off the edge and stopped in midair.

"That is so cool," Ashley said as the box floated up and dropped neatly in with its fellow food receptacles.

"It's not that great," Andros said sheepishly.

"Yes it is. I wish I could do something like that."

"Really? Maybe you could. I mean, I've never tried to teach a Terran, but, well…."

"I'd like that."

"Me too," Andros agreed. "Friday, after dinner."

"Friday, after dinner."

Several yards away the others gave each other knowing looks. The Yellow and Red Rangers were finally getting somewhere.


	4. Chapter 4 Help

Discalimer: I own Parix and Shreefang and I think that's it for this chapter.

Author's Note: Thank you all so much for your reviews. Many of you mentioned Andros' fortune and wondered if he had gotten one and just hid it. No! He did not get one! That cookie was empty! Now, I only ask that you let that simmer in your minds for a moment and think about what it means. Andros has no fortune; fortune equals future; Ashley's fortune said something cryptic. Yeah, I'm evil. Oh, and I just didn't have Carlos say what his said, he gets a lot of play later in the story and I felt he could handle not having a fortune. Now, enjoy chapter 4, where stuff actually happens!

**When It Rains… **

**Chapter 4 - Help**

"Incoming distress call from Centaur B."

"Put it through," Andros ordered.

It was the day after the picnic and the Rangers were all enjoying another day of relaxation, or so they had thought.

"Andro- we nee- -lp. ---aiders –a-acking. Plea- hurry."

"Well," Carlos reflected, "that does not sound good."

"DECA," Andros said, "are all Rangers onboard?"

"Yes."

"Then set a course-"

Andros was cut off by another announcement from DECA. "There is a monster attacking Angel Grove."

"When it rains," T.J. muttered.

Andros was still for a moment, considering his options. His people needed help, but so did the Earth. They couldn't just put off their Terran responsibilities on the shoulders of other heroes as they had in the other realities, the situation was not nearly so dire or drawn out as to call for that.

"All hands, to the bridge," Andros ordered over the comm. system. Several minutes and one long-winded explanation later the Rangers thought over the situation.

"We'll go," Karone said. "I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve, even without the dark power, and Ecliptor has always been a force to be reckoned with. We'll handle things on Centaur B."

"And I'm coming," Zhane declared before Andros could protest his sister's commitment. "I'm not about to let you go off on your own. These guys can handle things here for a while. They've got more than enough help that they can still call on. You do," he turned to Andros with an accusing finger, "don't deny it."

"Fine," Andros conceded. "You three go. Good luck," he added with a meaningful look at Karone. "The rest of you: Let's Rocket!"

* * *

"And who might you be?" the Blue Ranger asked the creature before him. It, or more precisely she, seemed to be a cross between a woman, a wolf, and a bat. Her body appeared to be that of a werewolf caught in mid transformation, and on her back was a pair of massive bat wings which she could fold in to allow herself more mobility in battle. Not a pleasant enemy to face.

"I am Shreefang," the creature declared, "I seek the Power Rangers, have you seen them?"

"We are the Power Rangers you near-sighted freak!" Carlos retorted.

"Really, you look more like children playing dress-up to me."

With that Shreefang raced forward so fast even the former Turbo Rangers would have done a double take, were it not for the fact that they were being brutally scratched by Shreefang's wolf claws.

"She's fast," Ashley said, clutching her side. The monster had actually managed to penetrate her armor.

"Very fast," T.J. agreed.

"Split up," Andros said curtly. "If she goes after one of us, the others will be able to attack without so much danger to themselves."

The others nodded and jumped away, forming a diamond around the wolf-bat.

Shreefang smirked. "You really think that will help you?"

She lunged toward Andros, then veered off to attack T.J. at the last minute. The Blue Ranger was caught off guard and suffered several more vicious scratches before the others even managed to pull out their astro blasters. Carlos was the only one who managed to get in a shot before Shreefang backed off. T.J. dropped to his knees as the woman laughed.

"I had been told that the Power Rangers of Earth were some of the strongest in the galaxy. Obviously, I was misinformed. I will return, and when I do, I expect to face real warriors." Shreefang gave one great flap of her wings and disappeared into the sky.

"T.J.," Ashley raced over to help her friend. "Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine," T.J. said through gritted teeth, "just get me back up to the ship… and I'll be fine."

"DECA," Andros called, "four to teleport directly to medical bay."

* * *

"Where did she come from?" Carlos asked as Alpha applied a salve to his more serious wounds.

"Any ideas DECA?" Andros asked.

"There have been no recent indications of a rising of any sort of evil on Earth."

"So that rules out good ol' Terran evil," T.J. muttered from the bed where DECA was scanning him for the third time.

"So, she's from another planet," Ashley said. "But was she sent, or did she come on her own?"

"From what she said," Andros theorized as he paced the room, "I'd guess that she's here for bragging rights."

"Well, she's got 'em," Carlos muttered, pulling on his shirt.

"But she's not going to be content with this," T.J. said, "she'll want to destroy us."

"You know," Ashley sighed after a few minutes, "some days, being a legendary force for good isn't all it's cracked up to be."

* * *

Men, and the term is used very loosely here, from all over the Cerxus Galaxy frequented Sarris' Pub. It was positioned just North of the Terullian mining fields on Kelin and was thus in the prime spot to receive… businessmen of all sorts. It was with great shock one morning when the pub opened—the pub only closed for about an hour every night since Sarris only needed twenty minutes of sleep a day—when the pub opened and a comely young woman with long black hair and enchanting eyes was serving drinks. She even, if you were a regular and she liked you enough which meant to grabbing or badmouthing, might sing a little song in the most beautiful voice most of those men had ever heard, mainly because most of those men either hadn't seen a woman in several months (or years) or came from species where verbal communication involved a lot of gurgling and screeching.

Parix was a regular. He came to Kelin at least twice a month to check on his employer's Terullian shipment and always stopped by Sarris's.

"Hello Dolly," Parix said as he slid onto the barstool. She gave him a kind "hello" in return, along with a strange sort of smile she always got when anyone greeted her as he had, but continued wiping off glasses and so he continued. "You know, no matter how many planets in how many galaxies you go to, you will be hard pressed to find a bar without stools, regardless of the physiology of either the planet's dominant species or the owner, it doesn't matter, there's always stools. It's a conspiracy."

"A conspiracy?" Dolly asked, absentmindedly wiping down the bar. "By who?"

"By the stool makers," Parix said with mock sincerity.

"Really? I never knew stool makers could be so devious."

"Oh, they are, you just haven't met any yet."

"You know, I don't suppose I have ever met a stool maker," Dolly said, thinking about it for a moment.

"You want to?" Parix asked.

"Depends, what's this one like?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure we'd meet one if you came with me."

"Parix," Dolly warned.

"Now just wait Dolly, I can give you more than this old place ever could, more than most of these other men ever could. Just come away with me and I will show you things in this universe that you never dreamed of."

"Parix," Dolly said firmly but softly enough that no one else would overhear, "I'm not about to 'come away' with anyone. You know that."

"I do. But I also know that there is more waiting for Dolly Levi in this universe than just a job as a barmaid."

"Maybe there is."

"Just, promise me you'll think about it Dolly," Parix pleaded.

"I can definitely promise you that I will think about it." 'Just not the way you think,' she thought as he walked away.

* * *

"Send this to Shreefang."

"Wh- what is it for milord?"

"She is to use it on one of the Rangers. Preferably the Red or Yellow, I am unsure what its affects will be on the others, but I am sure no matter who she chooses, the results will be most interesting."


	5. Chapter 5 Trouble

Disclaimer: I own Sam, Leslie, the ambassador and all his peeps, and anyone or thing I have mentioned owning in earlier chapters. I do not own Power Rangers.

Author's Note: Yeah, I told you all that it was coming. This chapter is heavy on the Carlos and Jeff, and even some T.J. Sorry A/A fans, they aren't really here. I'm getting there. There is a lot of story going on around them that has to be taken care of. Enjoy!

**When It Rains…**

**Chapter 5 - Trouble**

Carlos sat down rather abruptly in the middle on the soccer field, letting his head fall forward.

"Tough game," Sam muttered, falling onto his back a few feet away.

"Yeah," Carlos sighed. What his friend didn't know was that Carlos had spent half the game trying to keep from crying out in pain from his recent battle wounds.

The Ranger wasn't sure how long they sat there like that before, "Hey," a familiar voice broke through, making Carlos' blood run both cold and hot at once.

"Hey," Sam answered. "You guys were really good."

"Yeah well," Leslie never was one to take much credit for a win, even if she had scored half the goals for her team, "you guys should have won. You're usually-"

"Better?" Carlos supplied, finally looking up.

Leslie frowned: she hadn't meant to make anyone feel worse.

"It's not what we are usually that matters, it's what we were today."

"I guess," Leslie looked down, obviously ashamed.

Carlos almost laughed, Leslie was one of the most aggressive female soccer players he had ever met, but once the game was over she was shy and considerate and would never dream of hurting anyone else.

Sam sighed, getting up. "I've gotta go. I promised my brother I'd help him with his homework."

"See ya," Carlos muttered, never taking his eyes off of Leslie.

The girl looked up, giving the goalie a slight wave before turning back to Carlos. She only looked his way for a moment before averting those soft blue eyes of hers. Carlos hated it when she did this. She had taken her hair out of its braid after the game and combed it out, effectively hiding her face beneath a long, blond veil when she looked down.

"I'd- uh, better go," Leslie murmured before turning and rushing off.

Carlos watched her go then fell back onto the grass. Life sucked.

* * *

Jeff Hammond was bored. He had been called by his old, depending on how you looked at things, friend, the Gold Ranger, and asked to do the Triforian prince a favor. Never one to shirk his friendly duties, Jeff agreed. The favor however, was attending a conference on Elishe. The Infinity Ranger's job consisted mainly of standing still for very long periods of time and being pointed to and commented on. After the first day Jeff decided, just in case he ever had to do anything like this again, that once he got back to Earth he'd ask DECA if there was anyway to install pong on the inside of his visor. The next day while standing he decided that he could control the bar with his big toe, keeping the dignitaries blissfully unaware.

Jeff made it through the last day of the conference and was refueling his ship when, wouldn't you know, one of the ambassadorial pages came racing up to him.

"Sir! Sir!" the page called, nearly tripping over his long robe as he raced across the hanger bay.

"Yes?" Jeff asked, unable to keep his annoyance hidden.

"Ambassador Tunok would like to see you sir," the page said breathlessly when he arrived at the Rangers' side.

"Ambassador Tunok has had plenty of opportunity to see me over the past five days, he will excuse me for not going out of my way to let him see me again."

"But, there is a personal favor he needs done."

"Page," Jeff said, teeth clenched, "I know that you are merely doing what you are told and that none of this is your fault, but I am a Ranger, I have much more important matters to attend to than the whims of some politician."

The page sighed and Jeff could see that he wasn't supposed to say what he was about to, it wasn't how things were done, but Jeff was a no-nonsense kind of Ranger, and he didn't care about the way things were done.

"The ambassador has received word that pirates have begun frequenting the area of space between Palomix and Thelian. The ambassador cannot reach his home world without going through this area. He wants you to accompany him, for safety."

Jeff gave a slight guffaw, "I'm sure. Tell him I'll come, but he does what I say. We leave at dawn tomorrow."

"Yes sir." The page began running off.

"And page?"

"Yes sir?"

"I'm sorry."

"No need sir. You were nicer than most."

Jeff shook his head; apparently, the middleman was put-upon everywhere.

* * *

"What is wrong with you?" T.J. asked when Carlos banged the button on the synthetron.

"Nothing," Carlos muttered, sitting down with a rather large bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios.

"Yeah, right. That's why you're not eating your favorite comfort food."

"Hey! Some people like Honey Nut Cheerios."

"I know, I like them too, but they are not a sure sign that something is wrong with me. Plus you blew in here like a bat out of-"

"Pfft! Bats!" Carlos muttered through a mouthful, but T.J. was able to catch the word.

"What about bats?" T.J. asked gently.

Carlos squirmed a bit, but explained, "You know how everything was quiet for a while there, before Shreefang?"

"Oh, _that_ bat."

"Well, before her, I started going to this thing on Thursdays. It's nothing formal just, well, just a bunch of people getting together and playing soccer." T.J. nodded as Carlos took a rather violent spoonful of cereal. "Well, there's this girl."

"Oh, now I understand."

"You do?"

"Yeah, you want to start something with this girl, but now that Shreefang has shown up you don't think it's safe."

"Or fair," Carlos insisted. "What if we start dating and everything's great, but then- then I get hurt or—" Carlos let it hang.

"I know. It's hard. You have to weigh how you feel, and how you think the other person will feel. There's no right or wrong answer Carlos. It may not be fair to put someone in the position of dating a Ranger, but it also may not be fair to put someone in the position of not being able to be with you, if they really care about you, without letting them decide if the risk of pain is worth it."

"Wow. With that blue uniform, sometimes I forget…."

"Me too. But I guess there's still a bit of leader in me somewhere. You think about it, and try not to be violent with the synthetron again, DECA's wrath is not to be incurred."

"Good point, see ya."

* * *

Ambassador Tunok spent all of five seconds gaping at the Infinity Ranger's insistence that his party be ready to leave at dawn the next day, then burst out in jovial laughter.

"Ah," he said after several minutes, taking a handkerchief from the pocket of one of his aides and drying his eyes, "those Rangers and their humor. Who would have thought that a lone Ranger could make such a jest!"

"But sir" the frightened page began, "he seemed rather sincere."

"Nonsense!" the ambassador cried. "You just don't know how to read a Ranger. Nothing has changed! We leave in four days!"

Thus it was that the next morning Jeff Hammond awakened only to find that his fighter was trapped in the bay by several Telthian flagships, which would not be moving for several days. Needless to say, there was a spectacular dance show to be seen that morning and the Infinity Ranger hopped about in rage.

* * *

Carlos sat on a park bench, head in his hands, and wondered what he could possibly be thinking.

"Carlos?" Leslie asked gently.

"Hey," Carlos said, head snapping up.

"Are you all right?" the young woman asked, taking a seat next to the young Latino. "You sounded pretty strange on the phone."

"I know, it's just… this is really hard for me."

"Well then, you should get it over with." Leslie looked forward, focusing on the other side of the lake and praying that he would be gentle. She was now certain that she had been called here to be dumped, or whatever it's called when you never actually dated.

"Ilikeyou," Carlos said in one great breath.

"Oh?" Leslie asked, still refusing to turn in case she had heard him wrong.

"A lot. You're the first girl I've liked this much in a long time. I just—"

"You just—what?" Leslie asked, finally turning to see that Carlos' face was hidden by his long hair.

"I'm not a good guy to get involved with," Carlos finally said.

There was a moment of silence… followed by laughter.

'Even her laugh is beautiful,' Carlos thought, before realizing that this was not how things were supposed to go.

"You-" Leslie giggled, "are the least bad guy I have ever met. You volunteer at more charity events than a celebrity and you are good with kids and you never get into trouble, ever. How can you be a bad guy to get involved with?"

Carlos sighed, opting for a version of the truth. "I do good things, some of those good things you don't even know about. Well, the ones that you don't know about, they make some very bad people very angry and- and I'm afraid that they will hurt you if they find out about you."

"Carlos," Leslie said, taking his hand. "I'm a big girl. And we live in Angel Grove, how bad could these guys be?"

"Yes Carlos," came a dangerously silky voice from behind the couple, "how bad can they be?"

Both Carlos and Leslie jumped to their feet and spun around, only to see the one and only Shreefang.

"Leave her alone," Carlos called, "she has nothing to do with this."

"True, I have no reason to hurt her, I have only come for you Rangers. But, you have proven to be weaker than I thought. No matter how many times I attack this city you never have any new tricks. Well I am bored; I want enemies with power, enemies who are willing to risk everything, because they have nothing to lose. And I think I know how to achieve that."

Shreefang had moved before Carlos could register the change in his surroundings. When he turned to check on Leslie his blood ran cold. Shreefang had one of her clawed hands wrapped around Leslie's throat.

"Well little boy, what are you going to do now?" the monster taunted.

Carlos could feel something very like a growl forming at the back of his throat, he wondered for a moment whether the action was left over from his days as a giant lizard stalking through the harsh landscape of Phaedos.

"Let her go."

"Why would I do that? I'm sure I could make her squirm a bit." Leslie closed her eyes as nails bit into flesh.

"I said let her go!" Carlos cried, the feeling in his throat spreading rapidly through the rest of his body.

"No," Shreefang said simply, increasing the pressure. By now there were small rivers forming on the young woman's face, a mix of sweat and tears.

Carlos didn't bother talking, didn't bother thinking, only raced forward, the morph overtaking him by sheer power of will. Shreefang was unprepared to say the least. She let go of Leslie in shock and as the young woman fell to her knees the Black Ranger dealt the monstrosity before him a deafening blow that sent her flying across the lake.

When Shreefang finally landed on the opposite shore she didn't bother with anger or frustration. She simply got up, brushed herself off, and disappeared.

The Black Ranger was breathing heavily as he reached down to help the young woman before him. She sat just where she had fallen, holding her neck in one hand, not seeming to see the Ranger before her. When the gloved hand brushed her head she jumped back as if burned, fear in her eyes, but then her gaze cooled and she reached her own hand up to take his.

"Carlos." It was not a question.

"Yes," the Ranger answered. "You can't-"

"Tell anyone, I know. Don't worry, I won't. Thank you," she added after a moment.

Carlos pulled his hand away from hers. "I can take you to the hospital… if you want."

"I'd like that," Leslie said, nodding.

"Galaxy Glider, hang ten!" Carlos called, then helped the girl up.

They rode to the hospital in silence, Carlos refusing to turn and look at her and trying very hard to ignore her arms around his waist and the way she gripped tighter when they passed a bird or swerved to avoid a tree.

"Thank you, again," Leslie said when they'd arrived. Oddly, there was no one around this entrance so Carlos had no excuse to race off.

"It was nothing."

"What you said earlier—" Leslie began.

"Applies now, more than ever. There are things you don't know, other things about me."

"Carlos…"

"No. This just, this just can't happen. I'm sorry," he said as he lifted off into the sky.

* * *

Ashley woke up first the next morning and dragged herself to the jump bay. When she arrived she slowly ordered breakfast from the synthetron, a breakfast which would have been something akin to tar if DECA hadn't managed to fix the messed up order. Ashley slowly sat down on her usual stool and stared at her meal. She did not however, stare at it for long. Her attention was quickly grabbed by a white envelope propped up against the flowers in the table's center. On it was one simple word: "guys."

Ashley knew that handwriting: it was from Carlos. She grabbed the envelope so quickly that the vase tipped over, but she didn't care now. She ripped it open and quickly read the letter within.

"What's wrong?" Andros asked a second later when he walked in to find her bent over the small piece of paper.

"Carlos is gone."


	6. Chapter 6 Friends

Disclaimer: I still do not own anything except those people and places you did not see before this story or its sequel.

Author's Note: Okay, I'm getting annoyed. I love all three of you who keep reviewing, you know who you are. But the rest of you just read and don't review. I am getting very sad. I'm not saying that I will change my update schedule, but I just may forget to prepare for my vacation this weekend and not update for a few days after Sunday. On that note, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

**When It Rains…**

**Chapter 6 – Friends**

Phantom slowly crept through the forests of Keja Prime. This was the twelfth planet he had searched for the legendary warrior, and the twelfth that had yielded no clues from the looks of it. He was now coming up on a rather large energy source, but other planets had had similar energy readings and those had all ended up being factories that Dark Specter was having built for who knew what. According to the suit's sensors the energy source should be less than a hundred feet that—

A very large weight suddenly dropped on Phantom's shoulders, causing him to fall face-first into the dirt. Phantom sighed and waited for his attacker to speak, deciding this was preferable to trying to interrogate someone in the middle of the forest less than a hundred feet from the factory or whatever.

"Never seen a Quatron like you before," a female voice said confidently.

Confident, Phantom could overtake confident easily.

"What are you?" the voice asked and Airek could feel the person lean forward to speak into his ear, as if that helped, everything was filtered through the helmet.

In answer Phantom rolled, throwing the woman off his back and into a nearby tree. He continued rolling to his feet and grabbed her by the throat, holding her against the tree and cutting off any escape.

"I am the Phantom Ranger of Eltaire and I do not take kindly to being mocked by Dark Specter's minions."

"What?" the woman choked. "But—"

Airek saw his mistake immediately and let her go. He now allowed himself to look at her. She was dark skinned with long, dark hair. She looked almost human, except for the three raised neon green stripes coming off of the corners of her eyes and the matching fingernails. She was dressed in a camouflage tank top and shorts and no shoes of any sort. Airek was momentarily stunned by the similarities between her clothing and that of Earth.

"But," she panted, getting her breath back, "I thought you were one of Dark Specter's minions."

"No, I am here to—"

"You still don't trust that I'm not working for him, do you?"

"It doesn't matter if I don't," Phantom said truthfully. "I have already told you my name and that is enough for Dark Specter to know why I'm here: to rescue Zordon of Eltaire."

"Your name is Phantom Ranger?" the woman asked incredulously.

"Phantom Ranger is my title. It has become my name in recent years."

"Whatever. So you're here to look for your friend?"

"No, I am here to look for a hero to my people. We were not exactly on friendly terms when last we spoke. He did not agree with a decision I made many years ago."

"Was it a big decision?"

"Yes, very big. It saved my life."

"And he disapproved?"

"My life could have been saved much more—safely."

"Ah. Why do you think your 'hero' is here?"

"Zordon has a great deal of power. Dark Specter has been building these plants so that anyone who has come looking for him will be thrown off the trail."

"Oh. So, let's get looking." The woman began walking in the direction of the plant.

"Wait," Phantom called firmly.

"Yes?"

"You have yet to tell me your name or mission here."

"Oh, right," she said sadly. "My name is Ch'heeka. When Dark Specter came to this galaxy a few months ago he decimated my planet, scattered my people throughout the galaxy and basically made a nuisance of himself. I'm here to take him down."

Phantom sighed. "Carry on." Apparently, falling in love with a pink ranger meant never getting away from interesting characters ever again.

* * *

"You love Italian, almost as much as Chinese," Andros said gently across the table. 

"I know," Ashley sighed, "but I'm worried about Carlos. His note just said that things from before were catching up to him and he needed to get away. I assume before means the other versions, but it's still scary. T.J. and Justin are fine, they've had no ill aftereffects in weeks and Carlos never had any before now."

"Justin's better than fine actually," Andros said thoughtfully, "he remembers enough about the Machine Empire's technology that he's building some amazing things himself. T.J. could be better though."

"Yeah," Ashley said, "he could use a girlfriend…. But Carlos was getting somewhere with Leslie, that's what his friends say anyway."

"Have you talked with Leslie?"

"No, I probably should. I'll do it tomorrow." Ashley stared out the window for a minute before her eyes went wide. She slowly turned back to Andros, a sheepish expression on her face. "This isn't what we should be talking about on our first date."

"Why not?" Andros asked and Ashley couldn't be sure whether or not he was serious.

"It's shop talk, we should be getting away from work, getting to know each other."

"Oh, I think I know you pretty well."

"Really? And what gives you that idea?"

"How did I know you liked Italian almost as much as Chinese?"

"I- I don't know," Ashley said sincerely.

"You told me."

"When?" Ashley demanded, she would have remembered having such a pointless conversation with the pre-wish Andros and knew she hadn't said anything to him since.

"In a dream." Ashley's eyes brightened as she listened to Andros remind her. "I was trying to keep you asleep, but your body really wanted to get up, so I asked you what you had eaten for dinner the night before. You told me that you had had Italian, which was not your favorite, but it was a close second. I was going to ask what your favorite was when your alarm went off and you woke up."

"That's so sweet," Ashley said after a moment.

* * *

"Nothing," Phantom said sadly. 

"Nothing for me either," Ch'heeka said from several systems away.

The two had decided to split up, each taking their own ship to separate systems to search for Zordon. Ch'heeka had agreed that taking a prize like Zordon from Dark Specter was a pretty big blow and was at least a beginning to her ultimate goal of destroying the intergalactic despot. Phantom had, as Ch'heeka expected, gone to the first few planets the alien checked on her own and looked there himself without her knowledge. Ch'heeka had done the same to Phantom's, which he assumed she would.

"Has your girlfriend found anything?" the Cerxusian asked offhandedly.

"No, but I wish she would. I don't like her being there."

"She can handle herself," Ch'heeka said.

"How do you know? you've never met her."

"Well, shortly before I met you I stopped in Sarris' Pub and met the new barmaid. She bodily threw out a Tarklian. Plus, she'd have to be able to handle herself, to be involved with you."

"Very funny. Do you know where you're going next?"

"Yes, I just hope there's something there this time."

"Me too," Phantom replied, ending the transmission and heading off to his own assignment.

* * *

"Carlos," Dulcea said, not seeming at all surprised that the Black Ranger had ridden his glider down from the sky and dismounted in front of her. 

"Dulcea, I need your help," Carlos said, taking off his helmet.

"I had wondered where you would go. Come, sit," she gestured to a log before the fire. "You must be tired from your journey. Did you come all the way from Earth on that?"

"Yes. You knew I would be coming."

"I knew you would need help, there is a difference." Dulcea handed Carlos a plate of food before sitting down across from him. "Perhaps we should discuss this in the morning, the story may be hard for you to understand, fatigued as you are."

"No," Carlos said firmly, "I want to know as much as possible now."

"All right. Then I must begin long ago, before anyone even knew what a Power Ranger was…."

* * *

"And then there wasn't even any attack. I almost wished there was one to relieve the monotony of that stupid ambassador's life." 

"It could not have been that bad," Karone said. Ecliptor harrumphed in the corner, almost as if he sympathized with the Infinity Ranger.

"Oh," Jeff said, "it was that bad. Every day it was the same thing: call me, talk to me for hours about the dumbest things, and then have the audacity to invite me to dinner, as if I'd want to. And now he's probably off telling everyone how he's got a Ranger in his pocket. I hate politics."

"They are not that bad," Karone said.

"Yes they are," Zhane said. At Karone's hard look he explained, "You grew up with them, you're used to it, we have to learn now how to deal. It's harder."

"It is," Ecliptor agreed.

"Oh fine," Karone fumed. "But I can admit that the ambassador was probably horrible."

"Thank yo-" Jeff was cut off by the raising of an alarm.

"Apparently," Zhane said brightly, "you picked the right day to visit Centaur B. The raiders are attacking again."

"Let's go," Jeff said. The two Rangers morphed while Karone and Ecliptor simply waited.

When they got outside they saw a group of twenty or so raiders a few hundred yards off. Both groups charged.

Ecliptor managed to take out quite a few of them in one on one combat, white Zhane blasted from a distance before joining the battle. Karone was amazing, using a spear to help her fight she knocked out several men simply by planting the weapon in the ground and spinning around it. Jeff seemed to be doing rather well fighting hand to hand until:

"Infinity Ranger," one of the attackers said.

Another next to him agreed and soon all of the attackers around Jeff were refusing to attack. It was not long before every attacker, regardless of who they were fighting, knew that the Infinity Ranger was there and gave up. The raiders disappeared as one in a flash of neon green.

"That was weird," Karone said.

* * *

Review! It is your duty as a reader. 


	7. Chapter 7 Conspiracy

Disclaimer: I still own only the things that are new. I don't even own the names of the restaurants or the street.

Author's Note: The restaurants mentioned in this chapter are real and are both very good.

Author's Note 2: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. A special thank you to Star Fata, who reviews often and always brightens my day. Everyone keep up the good work!

Author's Note 3: It's Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow's birthday! Yay! streamers I would dedicate this chapter to her but it's not very happy and I feel that birthday chapters need to be happy and so, because of that, chapter 6 is belatedly dedicated to her! Seriously, it's pretty much the happiest chapter, something bad happens in every single chapter, it's very sad. Anyway, happy birthday AH/AY, and everyone had better go read her fics after they're done here and wish her a happy b-day!

**When It Rains… **

**Chapter 7 - Conspiracy**

"I was a member of the first Ranger team, more centuries ago than I care to count," Dulcea said. "Zordon was our leader. We did not know we were a Ranger team though, we simply knew we were a team. We each came from a different world, and we each felt in our very core, the call to fight the evils of the universe. Eventually we found each other, joined forces and traveled from world to world, fighting any evil we found there.

"Rita had been Zordon's first enemy, before he even met the rest of us. She had tricked him and he had followed her across the cosmos, attempting to undo a mistake.

"My first enemy was Rissai, the woman your friends met on Vega 3, the woman who grants the wishes. She feels it is quite ironic that I am now bound to this plateau as she is bound to her cave. But that is not the point. Rissai was a powerful sorceress, she could have conquered the universe with her power. I was lucky. I managed to draw her to a planet and caught her in a trap. The planet of Vega 3 is an unusual specimen. It has power in it that is rarely seen elsewhere. Something about it allows it to trap Rissai within the planet. I made sure that her power would be useless to her, but I could not cut her off entirely. She can only use her power when someone makes a wish. There are rules about who and how the wish can be made, but it doesn't matter.

"I knew when the realities changed because all original Rangers would, it is a side-effect of such long use of the power. I knew that you would be coming because I didn't cure you."

"What?" Carlos demanded. "But-"

"I simply used my abilities to unleash what humanity was left in you. You were the one who reached for that humanity, I simply gave you more power."

"So, I'm feeling these changes because…?"

"Because you changed yourself back the spell was never undone, just cheated. There is still some Reptos in you, some of the drive that he had, there always will be."

"But I can't control it."

"Yes, you can. You simply have to learn how. And you will start in the morning. I suggest you get a good night's sleep."

* * *

Restaurant Row was buzzing with activity. The many eating establishments that littered the area were bustling with activity. But no one bothered to look up at the stars. The street lamps usually kept anyone in the area from seeing the night sky clearly and this night was oddly overcast for the time of year. Thus it was that no one saw the figure sitting atop Taco Pablo's, watching Sorrento's as a predator watches its prey. 

Suddenly the figure perked up. A couple had just exited the restaurant, holding hands and laughing as if they had not a care in the world. But the figure knew better. These two people made decisions daily that would either save or doom this entire planet. But soon, all of that would change.

The figure leapt off the rooftop and landed directly behind the couple. Even they, trained warriors as they were, did not have time to react before Shreefang dug something into Andros' back. Ashley spun, delivering a wicked punch to the monster's face that sent Shreefang back a step. As she fell Shreefang pulled the object out of the boy's back, smirked, and jumped off into the night. People began crowding around the pair, offering help; the sounds of an ambulance could be heard in the distance. Andros was not waking up.

* * *

"Why did they stop when they saw the Infinity Ranger?" Ecliptor asked. 

Karone, Zhane, and Jeff were standing in the hallway outside of the prison while Ecliptor questioned one of the raiders captured several days earlier about his compatriots' odd behavior in the battle.

"Why!" Ecliptor thundered a moment later and Karone winced.

"We… we were ordered not to harm him," the three heard faintly from the room.

"Why?"

"We do not question our employers," was the aggravated answer.

"I think you may have in this case. Either the reason would have had to be worth your while, or the money would have had to be."

There was a moment of silence, then, "He wants the Infinity Ranger for himself."

"Why?" Ecliptor growled.

"I don't know, truly I don't."

Ecliptor seemed to accept that and waited a moment before asking, "Who is he?"

"What?"

"Who is your employer?"

"My employer? We do not know his name, but I know what he is," the man added hurriedly.

"What?"

"He is a shape shifter. I saw him once, when he was very angry, he became some sort of goo and rammed through a wall. I thought creatures like that died off centuries ago, or were imprisoned."

"They were," Jeff said darkly. The Infinity Ranger stormed off down the hall, leaving Karone and Zhane to race after him.

"What?" Zhane asked. "What do you know?"

"I didn't seal it, I forgot to seal Garthon back in that dimension, that means he can get out. He must have found a way."

"So Garthon is doing this?" Karone asked. "All of this, just to get back at you?"

"That's the only explanation," Jeff muttered.

"He's right," Ecliptor said, coming up behind them. "That man was also kind enough to tell me that a very powerful creature was sent to keep the Rangers busy on Earth, apparently Garthon has big plans for you."

"Shreefang," Zhane sighed. "We should tell the others."

"Yeah," Jeff sighed. "Let's go."

* * *

DECA automatically answered the call from Centaur B, telling the callers that they might have to wait. The four were left looking at an empty bridge for several minutes before they saw a gray and blue blur streak past the door. The blur came back a few seconds later and looked up at them. 

"Guys," T.J. sighed, "this is not a good time. Can you call back later?"

"What's wrong?" Zhane asked.

"Where's Ashley?" Jeff demanded.

"And Andros?" Karone added.

"Ashley's fine," T.J. assured. "She and Andros were attacked when they came out of Sorrento's. Shreefang injected something into Andros, we can't seem to get him stable."

"What!" Karone yelled.

"We are doing everything we can," T.J. said, "we just need a little more time to figure out what this stuff was supposed to do to your brother. The best thing you can do is-"

"Go back to Earth," Ecliptor said. When everyone stared at him questioningly he explained, "The raiders all pulled off a few hours ago, presumably after their employer discovered Infinity's presence. The rebels should be fine for now."

"All right," T.J. said, rubbing a hand over his scalp, he was obviously very tired. "Just hurry."

* * *

Andros could feel Ashley nearby. T.J. had forced her to leave and eat something after a few hours of her just sitting over him and Andros could not remember ever feeling so alone as he did when she was gone, despite T.J.'s continued presence. Now that she was back he felt more at ease, as if the pain in his chest was not so bad. But still, something was not right. Something was changing within him and he could feel it. Everything was leaving, disappearing. Everything he cared about was slowly becoming unimportant; everything except Ashley, she would always be important. As long as he had Ashley, everything would be fine. Everything… would be fine….

* * *

"So, where do we start?" Carlos asked. 

"With the reason you came. What happened to release Reptos?" Dulcea asked gently.

"I was at the park. I was trying to tell Leslie that we couldn't be together because being a Ranger would put her in danger; well, without telling her that I was a Ranger anyway. And then Shreefang showed up and attacked us. She grabbed Leslie, she was hurting her and taunting me and—and I just snapped."

Dulcea was quiet for a moment before saying, "You need to remember that feeling. Whatever it is you felt when Leslie was in danger, you need to feel that again."

"I don't know if I can… I don't think I want to."

"You're going to have to, if you want to learn control."

"Okay," Carlos said. The Black Ranger closed his eyes and thought back to two days before.

Dulcea sighed and watched her new student. If Shreefang was involved, things were much worse than she could have imagined.

* * *

"How is he?" Karone asked, almost sliding past the Medical Bay doors she ran down the hall so fast. 

"He still hasn't woken up," Ashley said.

"And you still haven't slept," T.J. said. "You've been up for thirty-six hours."

"I'm fine," Ashley complained.

"No, you're not," Jeff said.

Zhane looked over Andros' readings. "He looks to be stable now, he should be fine soon. You should go, even if you don't sleep, just get your mind off of this."

"I can't, what if he wakes up and I'm not-"

"We will teleport you here as soon as he wakes up," T.J. said. "If anyone asks we will tell them that we felt you might be in danger."

Ashley nodded and left the room as slowly as she could. "I'll be in the park," she said over her shoulder.

"Why would anyone buy the 'she might be in danger' excuse for sudden teleportation?" Jeff asked.

"They were attacked outside a restaurant," T.J. explained. "People saw, an ambulance came, picked him up. It was twenty minutes before DECA managed to wake me up enough to get me down there to collect him with some excuse about us having better medical equipment."

"Where was Carlos?" Karone demanded.

"Carlos left," T.J. said, "sometime between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. We don't know where, only that he needed to get away."

"Why?" Ecliptor asked.

"I think it had something to do with a girl. He was having problems with the whole relationship with non-Rangers thing. I don't know the details."


	8. Chapter 8 Talk

Disclaimer: I own Leslie and very few other things, stop asking!

Author's Note: Okay, here it is, the chapter I promised. There will be a two day wait after this chapter, just because I feel it works better if you wait a while after this chapter to read the next. Sorry, that's just the way it works. And, I am also sorry that this chapter is so short, I didn't mean for it to be. But, I have made all the preparations for my trip so I should be able to keep uploading, even though I'm far away from my computer.

Author's Note 2: Someone, I believe Phantom Rogue (who is cool, read her fics), asked about the whole Reptos thing. Okay, the instincts and strength and all that is still inside of Carlos somewhere and he has to learn to control it, otherwise, when he gets especially angry it gets out on its own and there is no telling what Carlos will do. That's all you really need to know. Okay, on to torturing the Rangers! Enjoy!

**When It Rains… **

**Chapter 8 - Talk**

"Ashley?" Leslie asked, walking up to the yellow-clad girl. "Are you all right?"

Ashley sniffed and looked up. She was sitting under a tree in a rarely frequented area of the park, trying to be confident about the situation and failing miserably.

"No," she answered truthfully.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Ashley looked up and saw that the other girl was sincere, she could see why Carlos liked her. "Sure." Leslie took that as an invitation and sat down in the grass. "Did you hear about the attack last night?"

"Yeah," Leslie said, becoming worried. "I heard only one person was attacked and the monster left. The Power Rangers came and took him; they said that they had better technology to fix him."

"Mmhmm, it was my boyfriend. I'm just so worried. I've been up all night."

Leslie took the other girl in her arms and held her for several minutes. When Ashley had calmed down some the two leaned back, each reflecting on their current situations.

"I guess," Leslie said timidly, "that this is what Carlos meant."

"What?" Ashley asked. "Oh, I had been meaning to ask you about Carlos, did you see him on Thursday?"

"Yeah, he came to tell me we couldn't date. And then a monster attacked."

"Leslie," Ashley breathed.

"I guess all of this is what Carlos meant, when he said that it was too dangerous for me to be with him," Leslie said, a sad smile on her face.

"What do you mean?" Ashley asked slowly.

"I mean, that you Rangers tend to get into trouble, in and out of uniform. He didn't mean to tell me," Leslie explained quickly. "He just got so mad when that thing attacked, I don't think he meant to change, but by then the monster had said enough that I knew everything."

"He told you that I-?"

"No," Leslie cut her off. "I figured it out. You do all wear the same colors all the time."

"Yeah, it's sort of subconscious, none of us mean to, but when we don't we don't feel right, like we're wearing the wrong size shoe or something."

"Hmm," Leslie mused. "Do you think that you could, maybe, get Carlos to talk to me?"

"I wish I could," Ashley said. "You were the last one to see him. We don't know where he went."

"What? What if he's-?"

It was Ashley's turn to cut her off, "He's not. He left a note and the ship's computer says he left of his own accord. Which reminds me…." Ashley tapped her communicator. "DECA? Could you send down one of those old communicators? Thank you," she said when the watch-like device materialized in front of her.

"Count on DECA to spy," Ashley said as she picked it up and saw that it had black stripes. "Black," she explained, "to match Carlos."

Leslie nodded, not fully understanding.

"The bad guys know that you're connected to Carlos, and since you know it seems safe to give you one. Here, you hit this button to talk. You should get the MegaShip, but if we're not in orbit you'll get one of the old Rangers. They'll be able to help or put you in contact with someone who can."

"Okay," Leslie said. "You want to get back up there, don't you?"

"More than anything," Ashley sighed.

"Ashley!" the cry came suddenly without any signal that someone was trying to contact her.

"Jeff? What's wrong?" Ashley asked, speaking into her communicator.

"You need to get back up here, _now_."

"I'm on my way," Ashley said curtly, standing.

"He'll be fine," Leslie said, laying a hand on her shoulder before stepping back to giver her some room.

Ashley nodded and was gone.

* * *

"What happened?" Ashley demanded, bursting into the Medical Bay.

"I was in here alone," Karone said, holding an ice pack to her head. "I turned to look at the readings and the next thing I know Zhane's shaking me awake and asking me what happened."

"Andros took out internal sensors before teleporting off the ship," Ecliptor said. "They should be back online within the hour."

"Why would he take out internal sensors if he was just going to teleport away?" Ashley asked.

"He didn't do it intentionally, at least that's my theory," T.J. said from a corner of the room. He was working on a blown up access panel. "I think he was angry and just hit the panel with his powers, sending a shock through the system."

"Why would he be angry?" Jeff asked.

"Well," T.J. said, "as near as I can tell without DECA and with the fried system. I think he was looking for you," he turned to Ashley.

"But, that doesn't make any sense," Ashley said.

"We shouldn't expect anything he does from this point on to make sense," Karone said. "He is under a spell or the affects of a potion or a disease or _something_. The point is, he is not himself. He cannot be trusted, we need to find him."

"Can we use external sensors? And what happened to DECA? I called her less than a minute before you called me."

"And it took just that much time for Andros to do all of this," Zhane said. "DECA is tied into all the systems of the ship, Andros probably hurt her when he hurt the sensors."

"External sensors, coming in now," T.J. said. "It looks like DECA is still operational, she just can't talk. She's been keeping track of Andros, or at least she was."

"What do you mean?" Karone asked.

"Shortly after he teleported to Earth, a rather powerful teleportation signal was detected leaving the system. He's gone."

* * *

"You have done well Carlos," Dulcea said. "You have managed to contain your reptilian furry under pressure and bring it out when you need to."

Carlos glanced around at the broken dinosaur skeletons. "Yeah, I guess so."

"But now you must leave."

"Leave? But I'm not ready!"

"Your friends need you, or they will soon. You cannot stay here any longer. You can continue to train as you have been on your own, you are more than capable."

"What do you mean they need me? How do you know?"

"You mentioned Shreefang when you first arrived. She was a servant of Rissai."

"So you think Rissai has broken free?"

"No, but I do think that she is up to something. You must go and tell the other Rangers."

"Are you sure I can handle myself?" Carlos asked uncertainly.

"Yes, I am sure. You are a strong warrior, I believe in you."

"Thank you Dulcea. Goodbye. Galaxy Glider! Hang ten!"

* * *

"I know. I know you want the Yellow Ranger," Garthon said. "I will bring her to you, but I may need you to do some things for me before that."

"Fine," Andros answered curtly. "As long as she is unharmed."

"Of course," Garthon said. "Of course."


	9. Chapter 9 Reunion

Disclaimer: I am getting very tired of saying this. Oh well. I own nothing, well nothing really valuable anyway, so no suing!

Author's Note: Okay, the two-day break is over, my breakfast has been ready for half an hour but here I am, updating for you ungrateful people who don't even review. Actually, I'm updating for the people who do and the people who don't just reap the benefit. Why have none of you good people mentioned T.J.? I have been very mean to him and given him nothing! No one has picked up on the signs, I am very depressed. Maybe someone will guess in their _review_. Enjoy chapter 9!

**When It Rains… **

**Chapter 9 - Reunion**

"Guys!" Carlos called the second he had materialized enough to speak. He quickly spun around, shocked that the Jump Bay was empty. Unless it was the middle of the night there was always someone there, eating or working on their glider or doing something. But it was ten in the morning, usually someone was up by now.

"DECA, where is everyone?" he asked. No answer. "DECA? DECA, this isn't funny," he said harshly. The red light was on but there was no answer. He hurried from the room, deciding to find any of the others, he had to tell them about Rissai.

He stopped outside of T.J.'s door and knocked loudly. The Blue Ranger was at the door so fast Carlos took a step back in shock.

"Carlos!" T.J. cried, pulling his friend into a bear hug. "Man have we missed you."

"What's going on? Where is everyone? What's wrong with DECA?"

"Ashley's still asleep, but only because Zhane gave her a sedative after she finally dozed off. He and Karone are off together looking for leads, while Ecliptor and Infinity go off on their own to look. I still haven't managed to fix DECA."

"Wait—what? What are they looking for? Why is Ashley sedated? Why does DECA need fixing?"

T.J. sighed. "Andros and Ashley went on their date on Friday. When they left the restaurant they were attacked by Shreefang. The monster only attacked once, she injected something into Andros. I had to go down to Earth as the Blue Ranger and say that we felt we had a better chance of helping the poor young man," T.J. adopted a self-deprecating tone for the latter half of the sentence. "When we finally got him up to the ship it took us a while to stabilize him. Karone and the others called then. Jeff stopped on Centaur B a few days ago and they found out that that interdimensional being that Jeff defeated to get his powers wants revenge and was using Shreefang and the attackers on Centaur B to distract us." Carlos bit his tongue here, deciding it was better to hear the story out than tell T.J. his own news in the middle. "Anyway, we convinced Ashley to at least try to take her mind off of Andros and she went to Earth, apparently she talked with Leslie, who you should call when this is all over by the way. Andros woke up while she was gone, attacked Karone, fried internal sensors and DECA's vocal units while looking for Ashley and disappeared. He was apparently transported off the planet a few minutes later. So where have you been?"

"Phaedos," Carlos began. "When Shreefang attacked me and Leslie I snapped. It was like I could feel Reptos in me again and I couldn't deal. Dulcea gave me some exercises to help keep in control and then told me I had to go back even though I'm still not fully stable. Turns out, Dulcea was one of the original Rangers along with Zordon. Rissai, that genie lady from Vega 3, was actually one of their enemies and Shreefang was like her pet or something."

"So, we have two massively powerful bad guys trying to get revenge on us," T.J. said slowly.

"Looks like."

"Maybe we should wake Ashley up."

* * *

"Where are you?" Ashley asked.

"I cannot tell you. But I will come for you," he added quickly.

"You need to come back. We're worried about you."

He gently stroked her cheek. "You don't have to be. I am fine, as long as I know we will be together again soon."

"Why did you hurt DECA?" she asked sharply, pulling away. "And why did you leave? You hurt Karone! We only want to help you!"

"Ashley," he said gently, pulling her into his arms, "I am fine. You do not have to worry, I will take care of everything."

"Andros please," she called, but the dream was already slipping away.

* * *

"Ashley?" Carlos asked gently.

"Andros," the Yellow Ranger murmured before opening her eyes.

"No," T.J. said sadly, "he's still gone."

"I know," Ashley said angrily, "and he is being a complete idiot."

"What?" Carlos asked.

"He—" Ashley stopped dead. "Carlos? You're back!" Ashley jumped off the bed and gave Carlos a hug. "Where have you been?"

"I'll explain later. What were you saying about Andros?"

"Oh, do you remember how, in the other version, Galactus and I shared dreams?"

"Yeah," the two Rangers said in unison.

"Well, apparently we're doing that again."

"And he's a complete idiot?" T.J. asked.

"Yes, he is," Ashley harrumphed, crossing her arms and flopping back onto the bed.

"Oh, well, did he happen to tell you where he was while he was being a complete idiot?"

"No, which is part of the basis for his idiocy."

"Figures," Carlos said, taking a seat.

"DECA?" T.J. called. "We managed to fix her while you were asleep," he explained to Ashley.

"Two Rangers are better than one," Carlos said.

"Yes T.J.?" the computer asked serenely.

"Is there any way to use Ashley's connection to Andros to find him?"

"There may be, but we would need to contact Zhane and Karone to discuss the safest method."

"Okay," T.J. said, slipping into leader-mode. "Contact them, just don't let Jeff know what we're up to. I don't want the Infinity Ranger going into over-protective big brother mode."

"Of course."

* * *

"I do not like this," Zhane said.

"Neither do I," Ashley said, "but it has to be done."

"How are you going to fall asleep?" Carlos asked.

Ashley was wearing a helmet with various wires linking to machines designed to monitor her vital signs and to approximate the location of whoever she happened to telepathically link with while she slept.

"I don't know," Ashley said, lying down.

"We could give you a sedative again," Karone half joked.

"No," Ashley said quickly. "I didn't manage to link with him until I had almost woken up last night because of the sedatives. I'll just have to fall asleep on my own."

"Well, we'll just leave you to it then," Zhane said, sidling out of the room.

"Bye," Karone said.

"Sweet dreams," the substitute leader said.

"Don't let the bedbugs bite," Carlos joked as the door closed behind him.

"We can monitor her from the bridge."

The group slowly made their way through the hall only to be met halfway to the bridge by a very unhappy, out of breath Infinity Ranger.

"Where is she?" he growled.

"Sleeping," Karone said innocently. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I know you guys are doing something crazy involving my little sister in an attempt to find Andros."

"What gives you that idea?" Zhane asked, putting an arm around Karone's shoulders.

"They're Fet-na. She's the best connection you have to him right now. Now what are you doing to her?"

T.J. stepped forward, "We're monitoring her telepathic readings in an attempt to locate Andros."

"So why are you all out here?"

"Because she's trying to fall asleep," Carlos supplied.

"The dreams," Jeff sighed after a minute. "I thought they stopped after the shift in realities."

"Ashley says they did," Zhane said. "But apparently they came back after Andros disappeared."

"Great. My life could not get any weirder."

"Don't say that," Carlos said, slapping the older Ranger on the back. "You still haven't heard where I've been."

* * *

"So, what's the special today?" Parix asked, sitting down at the bar.

"When," Dolly asked, "in the entire time you have been coming here, has there ever been a special?"

"Never," Parix said thoughtfully, "but there's always a first time."

Dolly shook her head, a slight smile on her face. "So what's your business here this time?" she asked conversationally.

Parix leaned forward conspiratorially, "Well, I'm sure you've heard about Dark Specter, the dictator who decided to expand his empire into our humble galaxy?"

"Yes," Dolly said, seeming almost bored. "He hasn't been met with much resistance."

"No," Parix smiled, "he hasn't. Anyway, it turns out that he's actually here to hide something."

"What could he possibly have to hide that he needs an entire galaxy for?" Dolly kept her voice low in case any of her other patrons were trying to listen in.

"Not a what, a who."

"A mistress, stolen from his enemies in the Milky Way?" Dolly joked.

"No," Parix laughed, "an old enemy. Zordon, he's called. He has to stay in a time warp for some reason or another, and has been spending the past few centuries training new warriors. Dark Specter's been building factories throughout the galaxy that mimic the time warp's power signature."

Dolly leaned back, and looked the man over as if she suddenly realized he could be lying to her, "And just how do you know all of this?"

"Because," Parix said proudly, "I have been asked to design a new kind of factory, one that will strip Zordon of his power."

"Really?" Dolly asked, intrigued.

"This may be the last time you see me for a while," Parix said. "Dark Specter won't want me leaving Terix Prime and giving away Zordon's location."

Dolly sombered, "I suppose not."

"And so, I was wondering if—"

"I'm sorry Parix," Dolly cut him off, "but I can't. I truly can't."

"I understand, just promise me that I'll see you again, even if it's only because you've invited me to your wedding."

"Don't worry," Dolly assured, "you'll see me again."

"Good," Parix said. "Now how about a drink to drown your memory in before I leave?"

"Sure," Dolly turned, dropping a microscopic tracking device in the drink as she poured it. She had to be sure the information he had given was correct.


	10. Chapter 10 Plan

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers.

**When It Rains… **

**Chapter 10 - Plan**

"Please tell me we have a location," Ashley moaned as she entered the jump bay.

"Not yet," Karone said sympathetically.

"It has been four nights," Ashley groaned. "I cannot stand sleeping with that thing much longer."

"I do have a rather drastic idea," Carlos offered.

"Being?" T.J. asked.

"We go to Vega 3. We know that Rissai is helping Garthon, maybe we can find some clues there."

"It's worth a shot," Zhane said.

"And there haven't been any monster attacks since Andros left," Karone said.

"DECA?" T.J. called. "Set a course for Vega 3, hyperrush 8."

* * *

"It looks exactly the same," Ashley murmured.

"Yeah," Jeff said, cutting away at some branches.

"Everyone remember," T.J. called from up ahead, "don't even say the w-word."

"I'm trying not even to think it," Karone muttered, "I would really prefer not to have any other lives under my belt."

"Yeah," Zhane agreed, helping her over a fallen tree.

Quite a while later they managed to find the clearing and fall a great distance.

"I am- oh, it's you," Rissai fumed. "I suppose you want to make a wish."

"Well, we would, except you're evil," Carlos murmured.

"Yes, I am aren't I? And it only took you three lives to figure it out. Bravo."

"Sarcasm is not appreciated," Karone sighed.

"Where is Andros?" Ashley asked angrily.

"And what are you up to with Garthon?" Jeff demanded.

"How should I know? And, revenge."

"Revenge on who?"

"All of you, well, Garthon only wants revenge on the Infinity Ranger, but I convinced him that the best way to do that was to torture his little sister. Any other stupid questions?"

"Where is Garthon?" Zhane asked.

"I don't know."

"But you can find out," Carlos said. "Shreefang is your creature, she'll come if you call."

"I do not have to do anything for you," Rissai said impatiently. "My job is to grant the wish of whoever awakens me, nothing more. Now," she turned to Carlos, "is there anything you would like to wish for?"

"Not a word," Jeff warned. "She'll take anything you say as a wish."

"He's right, but fortunately, I'm telepathic."

Carlos' eyes widened and suddenly he and the others were standing on the bridge of the MegaShip.

"What did you wish for?" Jeff asked worriedly.

"I'm not sure," Carlos said. "I thought of so many things and-"

"Guys!" Karone cried. "Where's Ashley?"

"Uh oh," Carlos said.

* * *

Ashley slowly looked around. She was in a dark room. At one end was a throne with a rather handsome man lounging in it. A few feet to his left was Shreefang and to his right was a toady-looking man who Ashley assumed was a toady. But none of them concerned her. The only person in the room she cared about, was Andros.

She was in his arms in an instant and it felt like they had been apart for months rather than days.

"Thank you," she heard him say over her shoulder. "Thank you for bringing her back to me."

"No," came the dark answer in a voice that sent shivers up her spine, "thank Rissai, she is the one who did this."

"I will," Andros said, gently stroking Ashley's hair. Something in the way he spoke made Ashley more frightened than anything she had seen thus far.

* * *

Ch'heeka blew into the Terix system so fast that any readings would show nothing but a slight blip that the computer would read as an error in its own sensors.

She quickly pulled behind the asteroid that Phantom had indicated in his last communiqué to her. She opened a channel with his ship, sure he was already here despite the fact that she couldn't see him.

"Your girlfriend is sure?" she asked out of the blue.

"Yes," Cassie answered, "I'm sure."

"Oh, you must be the infamous Pink Ranger," Ch'heeka said, looking the girl over. "It's my pleasure."

"I'm sure," Cassie said. "From Phantom's description I'm sure we'll get along just fine."

"I hope so." Ch'heeka was only slightly surprised. She had assumed that Phantom's girlfriend was beautiful, but she had not expected stunning. This boded well for Ch'heeka's own plans to visit the Milky Way when things were over here. When she realized that the Ranger had caught her staring she quickly said, "I am only hoping that the men in your galaxy are as attractive as the women seem to be."

"Thank you," Cassie said, a blush rising to her cheeks.

"Here is the plan," Phantom said, coming up behind the girl. "The two of us will teleport directly to the planet, my ship can cloak our teleport signal. We will search for Zordon while you approach the planet as a trader. Keep them busy with negotiations until we give you the signal. You'll come pick us up and hopefully we will be able to get back here and out of the system before Dark Specter figures things out enough to send his velocifighters after us."

"Hopefully," Ch'heeka muttered.

"Do you have a better plan?" Phantom asked.

"Actually, no. Good luck."

"You too," Cassie said as the link was broken.

Ch'heeka didn't even register a slight rise in power as the two teleported three astronomical units away. "Let's do it," she said under her breath and hurriedly pulled away from the asteroid.

* * *

"You wished my sister to Andros?" Jeff cried.

"I didn't know what to wish! All I could think was that the reason we were here was so that Ashley and Andros could be happy, finally."

Jeff groaned and turned away.

"We have to find Garthon," T.J. said practically.

"And how are we going to do that?" Zhane asked. "We have absolutely no leads."

"What about the mountain?" Karone asked after a moment of thought.

"What mountain?" Jeff asked.

"The mountain where you fought him. There may still be some latent power signature there. We could track its flow and find out where all his power is now."

"We could?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah, it shouldn't be that hard. But, we may have to enter an alternate dimension where time moves differently so…," she let it hang.

"We should call on some help," Zhane said, "just in case the planet comes under attack."

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Okay, DECA, set a course for Earth, hyperrush 9," T.J. ordered. "Everyone get some rest, we'll need it."

* * *

"Where are we?" Ashley asked.

"We are in Garthon's secret base of operations," Andros answered, obviously not too concerned with the answer as he combed through Ashley's hair with his fingers. The two were seated in his bedchamber, which he had been kindly given after arriving several days earlier.

"Well, that narrows it down."

"What is wrong? Aren't you happy?" Andros asked, dropping his hands to look at her. She turned to meet his gaze.

"No, and I can't see how you can be. We are in this horrible room, everyone outside that door wants us dead!"

"No they don't. Garthon simply wants to hurt Jeff, we are perfectly safe."

"You don't think that a great way to hurt Jeff would be to hurt his little sister?"

Andros' eyes flashed and Ashley felt a tremor move through the room. "No. He is only keeping you away from Jeff, not letting him know where you are. He wouldn't hurt you."

"How do you know?" Ashley ranted, rising to her feet and pacing the room. "How do you know that once Jeff arrives, because he will, Garthon won't draw and quarter me right in front of him just to see his reaction?"

"What does 'draw and quarter' mean?"

Ashley let out an unintelligible yell and fell back on the bed. "What did they do to you?" she asked, her voice small and weary.

"What do you mean?" Andros asked, lying down next to her and brushing the hair away from her face.

"Nothing," Ashley said sadly. After a few moments she sat up once more, a mischievous smile on her face. "Andros?" she asked sweetly. "You never did get around to teaching me any telekinesis."

* * *

"So," Carlos said, hugging his coat closer to himself, "what are we looking for?"

"We're not looking for any_thing_ exactly," Karone called over the wind. "We're trying to find the location of the interdimensional breach."

"Why didn't you say so?" Jeff called back. "It's in the temple. Come on!"

Jeff slowly led the shivering T.J., Carlos, and Karone to the center of the village, while Zhane walked behind at a leisurely pace. "I don't know what the problem is with you guys, it's barely cold," Zhane called ahead.

"Two years in a cryo tube sure give you some weird tolerances to cold," Carlos said.

"Yeah," T.J. laughed.

"Where is everyone?" Karone called.

"Well," Jeff called back, "they're either inside because of the storm, or they all left. With Garthon gone they don't have anything to guard. Here," he pushed open the door of the temple, "let's get inside."

"Welcome! It has been far too long Infinity Ranger!"

"Garthon," Jeff breathed. "But- that's not possible!"

"We checked the energy readings from this part of the planet before we teleported down, there was no way we could have missed all this dark energy," T.J. said.

"True, except I'm pulling my energy directly from the pocket dimension, rather than pulling it all through at once. That way you cannot detect me. Now, come in, we have much to discuss."


	11. Chapter 11 Revenge

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers, just various and sundry things and people who appear in their lives in this story.

Author's Note: I am so sorry! This chapter is short, I know, but tomorrow's chapter is longer and there were very few good places to cut into the story in this section. Don't worry! A/A fans will get stuff that they love in this chapter and the next. And everyone else, well I hope you like it, my attempts at action never go over as well as I want.

**When It Rains…**

**Chapter 11 – Revenge**

"I suppose you want an explanation," Garthon said. "Well, make yourselves comfortable."

Jeff gave a sarcastic "humph." He and the others were being held by what Jeff could only assume were animated statues. There was no hope of comfort.

Jeff looked around him, the room was exactly as it had been every time he had come here to defeat this monster, but now he had added doors leading who knew where. Apparently a few extra weeks of freedom meant home improvements.

"After you defeated me you forgot to seal me in the dimension, meaning that I could leave at will, as long as I could find an acceptable exit. I chose one on Vega 3. You had mentioned alternate realities and I knew that the only person capable of doing that was Rissai. She gave me a wish, a wish that she wouldn't, as she usually does, use to her own wicked ends. She only did this because I agreed that I would make all of your lives as miserable as possible. It has been quite enjoyable. I've missed meddling in the lives of heroes," Garthon added nostalgically.

"What did she do to Andros?" Karone asked, angrilly indicating Shreefang with her chin.

"She merely altered his perceptions of the world. Before he cared about all of you, the Earth, the fate of the universe in general, now he only cares about that Yellow Ranger. He will do anything to be near her, anything."

"Where are they?" Zhane asked.

"Here. They are in one of the guest suites."

"You have guest suites?" Jeff asked, suddenly remembering why Garthon was so annoying.

"Yes, what kind of evil overlord do you think I am? Toady!" he called and a man who really looked like he was a "toad"-y, scuttled forward.

"Yes sir?" Jeff shook his head, even his voice was annoying.

"Go and fetch the Red Ranger, but only the Red Ranger. Tell him that it is of the utmost importance that his little girlfriend remain behind."

"Yes sir." The creature raced off.

Garthon regaled the Rangers with a harrowing story of his former glory while they waited. Everyone, including Shreefang, was very grateful when he was cut short by the Karovan's arrival.

"Andros!" Karone called, trying to step forward but being stopped by the stone guard behind her.

Andros did not even spare his old friends a second glance. "Did you want something sir?" he asked, obviously wishing he was elsewhere.

"Yes," Garthon managed to control his rage at being addressed so. "These four people have come to steal the Yellow Ranger away from you."

Andros' eyes flashed once more and a tremor, much like the one in his quarters could be felt.

"We are so screwed," Zhane muttered as his best friend turned toward them, eyes blazing.

* * *

"This cannot be good," Ashley said to herself once Andros had left. 

She quickly tried contacting DECA for the hundredth time since arriving and got nothing but static. She then tried the door: locked, from the outside. She harrumphed down before it and looked around. No windows, the only other door led to the bathroom. How to get out? Ashley's eyes rested on the dresser. Various items were strewn over the surface and the mirror was cracked in one corner. These were the results of several hours of telekinesis practice. Ashley sighed, Andros had said that she had natural talent, she just needed the proper motivation.

The old mischievous smile came over Ashley's face. She closed her eyes and tried to visualize the lock on the outside of the door. She had only seen it twice, but could remember it quite well. It was a strange style and she had made a point of looking at it when she first entered. She saw in her mind how it would look when locked and slowly thought about the lock. The lock… tuuuurrnnniiinng, sloooowlly.

_Click!_

Ashley's eyes shot open and she turned, grabbing the doorknob with both hands and pulling: it opened. Ashley sighed with relief and ran off toward the sounds of fighting.

* * *

Garthon was ecstatic. The Red Ranger was viciously beating his friends, and he had front row seats. He would stop the Ranger if he came too close to killing the Infinity Ranger; he wanted that particular Ranger alive when the Yellow one was killed. Shreefang already had orders to kill Andros after this battle was done, just to make sure he didn't interfere with the execution. Garthon almost laughed with glee. This was a good day. 

Ashley was not happy. She raced into the throne room only to find that Andros, the love of her life, was fighting her brother. Zhane, Karone, and Carlos had fallen back, leaving the two testosterone driven men to it.

Ashley ran forward, fully intending to stand between them in an attempt to stop them, but was pulled back by Garthon.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" he whispered in her ear.

"What have you done to him?" Ashley asked, her voice dripping with hatred as she squirmed in his grasp.

Garthon snaked an arm around her waist and held her to his side in an attempt to keep her still before answering. "Having a Fet-na is a difficult business, especially for telepathic species. It messes with their mental process in an odd way. Your lover has lost all loyalties, save those to you. All he cares about is being with you, keeping you safe and with him."

"Like Galactus," Ashley murmured.

"Yes, like Galactus, only more extreme. Don't worry," he continued after a moment, "I'm not about to let your brother die yet. If the Red Ranger comes too close to killing him I'll just have Shreefang kill him. I want Infinity alive," he turned to Ashley, gently taking a lock of her hair in his hand, "to watch you die."

Ashley turned and renewed her efforts to pull away. Garthon held her firm until she managed to drive her heel into his foot. The monster cried out at that and loosened his hold. Ashley only got a few feet before the arm, still around her waist, turned into a snake and pulled her back to Garthon's side.

"Wretched little Ranger!" he hissed, his face now like that of a snake. He seemed about to bite her, but a rather loud grunt from Jeff pulled his attention back to the fight.

"Andros," Ashley whispered as the Red Ranger was shoved back a few feet and countered with a remarkably fast swipe at Infinity's head with his saber.

"Quiet," Garthon hissed, his snake arm twisting tightly around her and pushing the air from her lungs.

'Andros,' she thought. '_Andros_, help me. Come back.'


	12. Chapter 12 Fight

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.

Author's Note: This chapter is longer and there is some actual action here so I hope you enjoy it, despite my failing in the area of writing action scenes.

**When It Rains…**

**Chapter 12 – Fight**

'Andros,' she thought. 'Andros, help me. Come back.'

Andros' weapon came back around for another strike but stopped still inches from cracking Jeff's visor.

"Ashley?" the Red Ranger whispered. He suddenly dropped his saber, bringing his hands to his head and dropping to his knees as if in pain.

Jeff turned to see Garthon suffocating his sister. He was suddenly filled with a rage he had never known, even before when he had lost her, and raced forward, batting Shreefang and Toady away like dolls as they tried to block his path. He brought his sword down, severing the serpentine arm from the body before Garthon could react. Ashley fell to the ground, the snake unraveling from around her. Jeff stopped. The arm wasn't changing back into the gelatinous substance that it usually did. He inspected it even as Garthon moaned in pain a few feet away. Where the arm had been severed it was cauterized, and still glowing faintly.

"Jeff," Ashley breathed once she had untangled herself, "your sword."

The Infinity Ranger turned and saw that his sword was glowing.

"Cool," Jeff said, and turned back to Garthon.

"Try and kill my little sister will you?" he asked, pulling the sword up to his shoulder and bringing it down as if hitting a very low pitch.

"Shreefang!" Garthon called shrilly as he dodged.

The creature seemed to decide that she should help her new boss and slowly began to rise, but was met by a wall of Black.

"We have some things to discuss," Carlos said, cracking his knuckles.

Shreefang smirked.

Carlos slowly opened his mind as Dulcea had told him: he let the animal instincts take over, but made sure to retain his logical human mind.

Shreefang raced forward and aimed a slash at Carlos' neck but was surprised to find her wrist caught in the Ranger's grasp inches from her target. Carlos stiffened his hold and pulled down and back, forcing the monster's arm behind her back. Shreefang tried to attack with her other arm but found that it was quickly caught by his other hand and held at her own neck line.

"You really shouldn't have messed with our love lives," Carlos said.

"Oh, but it makes you so much more fun. Wherever did you get the extra speed and strength?"

"Alternate reality created by a wish gone wrong."

Shreefang quickly unfurled her bat-wings and threw the Ranger back. "I suppose my mistress did that," she said, turning to attack once more.

Carlos picked himself up from the floor and rushed forward, a growl escaping the bottom of his throat. Less than a yard before he would have hit the monstrosity at top speed there was a flash of light from his right and Shreefang was knocked to the ground several feet away, unconscious.

"What?" T.J. asked when Carlos turned to him. "Did you honestly think we were going to let you have all the fun? Toady here wasn't a threat at all, Zhane and Karone beat him in two hits." Carlos looked around the Blue Ranger to find that Karone had successfully tied the lackey upside-down and duct taped his mouth. Zhane held up his hand, "Don't even ask where she kept the rope and duct tape, I don't even know." Karone gave a laughing smile.

"Ashley!" Andros said, running up behind the girl as she watched her brother battle his mortal enemy.

"Andros!" Ashley cried, throwing her arms around his neck. She quickly pulled back though when she remembered the past few days.

"Don't worry," he said quickly. "Apparently you're telekinetic and telepathic. You yell loud too." Andros rubbed his head to emphasize his comment.

"I did not yell!" Ashley slapped his arm lightly.

"Not intentionally," he explained. "You don't know how to keep your underthoughts and emotions from leaking through into what you project. It takes time, and most people never fully shield everything out."

"Oh."

The two suddenly ducked to either side as Garthon went flying down the steps.

"You're mad," Ashley observed as her brother passed between the couple.

"Really, I didn't think you'd notice," Jeff remarked, not bothering to raise his still-glowing sword as he advance on his enemy. "Now, I think I can do it right this time."

Jeff lifted the sword up before him, holding the hilt in both hands, and swiftly brought it down at his enemy's head. Garthon winced, turning away from his imminent doom… that never came. Several seconds later, when Garthon finally gathered the courage to look, he found a swirling vortex before him.

"Go." The Infinity Ranger's voice was hard and left no room for compromise.

Garthon crept into the dimensional prison and Andros threw his arm in after him. Jeff held up his sword again and focused his energy on sealing the crack. The room filled with light and when it cleared the Rangers and Karone stood in a small temple filled with cobwebs and dust. There was a gently winter breeze blowing a bit of snow through the window and a rather old man was crouching over a candle, trying to get it to light.

"Hey," Jeff said as the man stared at them.

The man simply sighed and shook his head, beckoning the heroes outside for a meal in exchange for the battle they had fought.

* * *

"So," Zhane began, taking a rather large bite of hamburger, "Carlos' leftover lizardness from the alternate timeline gave him the ability to beat Shreefang," Carlos nodded, "Ashley's unvoiced anger and indignation fixed Andros," Andros nodded, "Jeff's anger at his sister being in danger made him reach a new level of power that made his sword keep Garthon from transforming once he had been cut," Jeff nodded, "and also allowed him to cut a hole in the dimensional barrier and seal Garthon in it?" Jeff nodded once more. "Great, so now everything's fixed." 

"I hope so," T.J. said, taking a few fries from the plate before standing. "I have to go, I promised the guys that I'd hit a few balls with them once I had an afternoon free."

"You should go too," Ashley said, kicking Carlos under the table.

"Why? I haven't had a good meal of Estelle's in ages," Carlos said, leaning forward to take some more fries.

"Leslie has been really worried about you."

"Well, um, how would I even find her?" Carlos concluded suddenly. "She could be having a game or something and-"

"I gave her a communicator."

"Oh. I guess that was a good idea, since she knows and all."

"Yeah," Zhane said, taking a sip of soda. "Just go so that the rest of us can get back to our own significant others."

"Fine," Carlos said, leaving to find a secluded area from which to call DECA.

"What happened to Ecliptor?" Andros asked suddenly.

"He decided to stay away for a while," Karone sighed. "He's not used to being around all this good yet."

* * *

T.J. took an unusually slow gate as he walked through the park. He hadn't really had to go to play baseball; he had only said that to get away. 

"Zhane has Karone, Ashley has Andros, Cassie's off with Phantom, and now Carlos has Leslie." T.J. sighed. "I need someone."

A blur suddenly struck out from among the trees and covered the Blue Ranger's mouth, pulling him into the foliage.

"You're a Ranger," a voice said in his ear. The tone was hard, but the voice itself was soft, comfortable.

T.J. shook himself. He was being attacked, he couldn't be thinking these sorts of thoughts about his attacker. Although… it was rather comfortable being so close to her.

The woman seemed to hesitate. "Zordon sends his regards."

That got T.J.'s attention. He pulled away quickly and turned, lashing out at his enemy. She jumped out of the way, rolling into a crouching position and looking back up at him with deep brown eyes.

"What have you done with him?" He didn't give her time to give an answer before throwing a punch at her head.

She dodged again and threw a punch of her own. He pulled his arm back from his last attempt and grabbed her arm before she could make contact. She caught him in the stomach with her other hand.

"I—haven't—done—anything—to—him," she said between punches until she finally managed to grab on of his arms, pulling it down between them and bringing him close to face her. "He's on my ship. Phantom sent me to you."

"Phantom?" T.J. asked, not bothering to pull back.

"Yes," the woman sighed, out of breath. "He and I met in the Cerxus Galaxy. You know," she said, suddenly noticing something about their position, "this would be a lot easier if you weren't holding my back." And T.J. was in fact holding her lower back to keep her from moving back.

"Sorry," T.J. stepped away sheepishly, "I was going to hit you and then you started explaining and—"

"It's okay. I'm Ch'heeka."

"T.J." The Ranger held out his hand and Ch'heeka stared at it suspiciously. "I guess you don't do that in the Cerxus Galaxy."

"No, we don't do that, whatever that is. Look, aren't there other Rangers? I'd hate to have to explain this twice."

"Yeah, there are. But," T.J. bit his lip, turning to look out at the park, "Ashley's probably forced Carlos to go find Leslie by now and…" he turned back to the alien girl before him, looking her up and down before blushing and turning away once more. "Can't it wait?" he pleaded, he did not want to deal with ruining the first good day the Rangers had had in a while.

"Do you know the Pink Ranger?" Ch'heeka asked seriously.

"Cassie? Yeah, she's one of my best friends."

"Dark Specter has kidnapped her."


	13. Chapter 13 Prisoner

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers.

Author's Note: Wow. I sure got a lot of reviews last chapter. Thanks to all of you! Today we go back and show you how Cassie got captured, yay! I'm planning on posting a one-shot about how Phantom became Phantom in the next two days. It would help you understand part of the ending to this fic if you read it. I hope to post it today but it keeps growing and I'm not sure how well that will work out. I'll tell you when it's up. But for now, enjoy this fic!

**When It Rains…**

**Chapter 13 - Prisoner**

Three Days Earlier…

"The compound is only a few hundred yards ahead," Cassie said, pocketing her scanner.

"Cassie," Airek said, his voice coming out of the air as he gently took her elbow in his hand. "Be careful."

"Me be careful? You're the one who has some weird penchant for running off into dangerous situations."

"Yes, but I can be invisible."

"And I can charm my way out of almost anything. You of all people should know that.

"Now let's go," she sighed, turning back toward the building, "I don't want to be late."

"For what?" Airek asked, following closely behind.

"For T.J. and Ch'heeka meeting. They'd make a great couple."

"They do have a great deal in common. They both have good instincts for battle situations and they are both sufficient warriors."

"'Sufficient'? It almost sounds like you're insulting my friend."

"Never."

"Good. Now, let's go see Zordon. I've missed that big, echoy voice of his."

* * *

Airek had never before wished that he was not invisible as he did now. He would give every year that insane, life-altering plan of his had given him if only she would be the invisible one now. She was very good at hiding, as any Ranger should be, but there was the downside that she was occasionally seen and those that saw her took notice. Cassie was a very attractive woman, regardless of what species you were a member of, and men tended to notice her, and continue noticing her for as long as they could.

"Hold it!"

'Finally,' Cassie sighed. She was wondering when someone would realize she wasn't supposed to be here, it would make things easier. 'Don't get jealous if this goes bad,' she thought at Phantom, knowing full well that even if he could hear he wouldn't listen.

"Yes?" Cassie asked sweetly, turning to the woman who had stopped her.

"Who are you?" the woman questioned harshly, looking Cassie over.

Cassie was suddenly very glad for those weeks in the bar, it made her more used to looking into faces that looked like they had been melted off. "Dolly, Dolly Levi, at your service."

"And what exactly are you doing here?" the woman asked crossly.

Cassie took a deep breath, show time. "I'm a friend of Parix'. I just can't seem to find him."

"'Friend,' hmm?"

Cassie let out a giggle, "Well…" and felt a hand press into her lower back. The woman didn't seem to notice the flash of surprise, then annoyance mixed with happiness that crossed the girl's face.

"Parix is probably with the 'patient,'" the woman pointed down the hall, the last word said with laughing sarcasm. "I'm sure he'll be happy for the interruption."

"I hope so." Cassie hurried off down the hall and, when the woman had rounded the last corner, quickly ducked inside, Phantom right behind her.

"What is it now?" an annoyed Parix asked, never turning away from his work at the base of Zordon's tube.

Zordon's face lit up with pride when he saw Cassie enter the room and Cassie was too busy beaming at her former mentor to answer Parix question.

"Well, what?" Parix asked, now angry as he turned. "Dolly," he breathed in surprise.

"Dolly" rushed forward, clapping a hand over Parix' mouth and pinning him to the wall.

"I'm really sorry about this," was all she gave as explanation before turning back to the seemingly empty room. "How long until we're out of here?"

"A few minutes," a disembodied voice said and Parix could see that many of the controls were being moved by an invisible force. "Take care of the camera," the voice said.

"Dolly" looked up and, seeing the device in the corner, raised her hand, a blaster materializing in it as she did.

"Who are you?" Parix tried to ask, but the words were still muffled by her hand.

"I really am sorry," she said, turning back to him.

"Ch'heeka should be here in less than a minute."

"Good," there was a loud bang on the door, "because I doubt we have two."

The door suddenly broke in and a horde of Paranatrons swept into the room. Some were quickly stopped by the invisible figure. Cassie released Parix and jumped into the fray.

Parix sank to the floor as he watched the display. Dolly was an amazing fighter. She ducked and dodged, striking out at just the right moment to inflict the maximum damage while keeping herself safe. But Parix did notice one slight miscalculation on her part. The device on her left wrist—he had often questioned her about it and she had always given some quick answer about it monitoring her life signs—one of her attackers managed to pull it off. The second the device was off her wrist all thoughts of safety seemed to leave the girl's head, even the large floating head, who was intently watching the battle, seemed worried when this happened. The creature dropped the device as quickly as he had taken it from her and she lunged for it, just as it, the tube, and the invisible man disappeared in a flurry of sparks. Dolly had been left behind.

* * *

Phantom sank to the floor of Ch'heeka's ship, gently taking the morpher in his hands.

"SHE WILL BE FINE," Zordon assured.

Phantom did not move and after a moment Ch'heeka called back. "What do you want us to do?" She had truly liked the Pink Ranger and did not like to think of what Dark Specter would do to her. Also, she did not want to think about Phantom without her, it had become clear to Ch'heeka over the past few weeks that Phantom had a great dependence on the girl, even if she was not with him he needed to know that she was safe, for his own peace of mind.

"You will take Zordon back to Earth. Find the other Rangers, they will help us. Teleport me back to my own ship. I will not leave her."

"What are you going to do?"

"I will wait. I will wait for your return. My ship can stay hidden indefinitely. Just hurry."

* * *

"You know," Zhane mumbled, walking onto the bridge, "I have had very little alone time with your sister since that whole wish thing. But everyone else gets alone time with their girlfriends and I would really like to know why you all hate me."

"We don't hate you," Carlos said. "Plus, I didn't get to spend any time with Leslie and you don't see me complaining."

"That's because you're afraid to talk to her," Karone said superiorly as she glided past.

"So what's the emergency?" Andros sighed, taking his seat and looking around at his friends. "And where is T.J.? Didn't he call this meeting?"

"Yes," T.J. said, walking in and wiping grease off his hands, "I did. I was just busy installing a few new components."

"What sorts of new components?" Andros asked, rising.

A smile, a real, true smile, appeared on T.J.'s face for the first time in weeks. "Come and see."

The Rangers followed, giving each other confused looks and shrugs as T.J. led them through the engine room and to the room where Zhane had been sleeping all those years. A young, obviously alien woman met them at the door.

"So, these are the other Rangers," she said. "I'm Ch'heeka."

"Phantom sent her," T.J. replied, "with this." T.J. stepped aside to allow the others a clear view.

"Zordon!" Ashley cried, racing forward.

"Zordon," the others murmured, following their friend.

"HELLO RANGERS," the interdimensional being said, then added with a slight nod, "AND KARONE, IT IS GOOD TO SEE YOU BACK AMONG US."

"Zordon," Andros began, shaking his head in an attempt to find words.

"We've missed you," Carlos supplied.

"I HAVE MISSED YOU ALL AS WELL CARLOS, BUT WE HAVE IMPORTANT MATTERS TO DEAL WITH." Zordon nodded to T.J. and Ch'heeka who had hung back at the door.

"Dark Specter managed to kidnap the Pink Ranger," Ch'heeka said.

Andros' response was immediate. "DECA, set a course for Aquitar."

"NO ANDROS," Zordon said. "I WILL BE ACCOMPANYING YOU ON THIS MISSION."

"I disagree," Andros said, apparently more sure of himself in the older being's presence when he was in leader-mode. "You give off a specific energy signature, Dark Specter's forces will be able to find us much more easily if you are on board."

"TRUE, BUT YOU CAN MASK THE SHIP USING AN INTERPHASIC SHIELD."

"If we had one," Andros countered, somehow managing to keep his tone semi-respectful.

"I do," Ch'heeka offered from the back.

Zordon simply nodded, smiling.

"Then let's install it, fast," Andros said. "It's good to have you back," he said to Zordon before leaving the room.

"GO," Zordon said to the remaining Rangers, "YOU HAVE MANY PREPARATIONS TO MAKE IF WE WANT TO SAVE CASSIE."

* * *

'Déjà vu,' Cassie thought. She was, yet again, being held captive at a banquet being attended by her worst enemies.

"What do we have here?" Dark Specter asked, gently lifting Cassie's head to force her to look at him. "A little lost Ranger, and the Phantom's lover to boot. He would never leave you." The monarch turned to the guards. "Torture her. I want it transmitted on every frequency so that no communications can take place in this system."

"But why sir?" Elgar asked.

"Because you buffoon," Divatox snapped, punching her nephew in the gut, "that way Phantom will hear it."

Cassie kept her head high as she was lead from the room among jeers from her enemies. Her friends would come. Airek would come.


	14. Chapter 14 Relations

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers.

Author's Note: Sorry to all Karone/Zhane fans. I do ship them myself, but they didn't fit very well in this chapter, sorry. But this chapter is six pages long so I hope you find something you enjoy. Just a note, there are two chapters left after this one so I hope you're ready for the end.

Author's Note 2: Okay, I suck. Back in chapter four I mentioned that Cassie was working in a place called Sarris' Pub. Sarris is a character in one of my all time favorite movies, ever. Now if any of you can figure out who he is I will be very proud. No, Sarris never makes an appearance in this story, I was just looking for someone to name the pub after and I had seen the movie the night before or something. But I would still be very impressed if any of you knew who he was, the movie was very underrated. Anyway, on to the story!

Author's Note 3: The idea that Rangers are dependant on their colors and need to wear clothes of their color or suffer dire consequences comes from Starhawk's wonderful series of stories. I recommend them to anyone. Oh, and I didn't ask if I could use the idea so if you're reading this: sorry Starhawk!

**When It Rains… **

**Chapter 14 - Relations**

"How much longer?" Ch'heeka asked, bending down to look into the access tube.

"Not much," T.J. grunted, his voice echoing off the walls of the tube. "This," he said between turns of a wrench, "would be a lot faster if Jeff were here. He is very good at fixing mechanical things. He and Ashley are a lot alike that way." He slowly pulled himself out of the tube to avoid a head injury. "Hand me that calibrator," he said, sliding that panel back into place.

"Where is this Jeff person?" Ch'heeka gave him the device and T.J. couldn't help but notice the bandages around her wrist.

"He's another Ranger. He's staying on Earth. We don't want to have to ask the other superheroes to fill in for us again and Jeff can handle things for a while.

"Everything looks fine," T.J. said after a minute. "T.J. to Andros."

"Andros here," the Red Ranger's voice came over the speakers.

"The shields are ready, we can enter the Cerxus Galaxy without Zordon being detected."

"Great job T.J. Everyone," his voice could be heard on speakers throughout the ship, "prepare to enter the wormhole. We'll be in there for a while, so get anything you need from the computers now."

"I still don't understand," Carlos said, ordering a great deal of food from the synthetron, "why can't we use the computer?"

"Wormhole travel isn't an exact science," Karone said, clearing tools off the table. "Only vital systems such as life support can remain on or they may interact badly with the wormhole's energy fields, causing, at best, damage to the system."

"And at worst?"

"The complete and total destruction of the ship."

"Ah, now I see."

There was a loud rushing sound as every set of doors on the ship suddenly opened.

"Even doors are too much?" Carlos asked.

"And lights," Zhane said, walking in just as the lights dimmed. "No morphing by the way."

"What about Zordon?"

"When Zordon was brought on board T.J. put him in the cryo room to help him recover from the draining of his powers. Now Zordon's tube is self-sustaining. The same forces that keep him alive in it will keep it from interacting with anything outside of it."

* * *

"We had to stop milord," Mondo said, appearing before Dark Specter. 

"Why? She is a Ranger, she should be able to take the pain."

"Yes, but her morpher is gone and she is not wearing anything of her color. She has been cut off from the morphin grid. Usually, a Ranger's life force feeds into the grid and energy is fed back into the Ranger, but now her energy is going in, but not coming out. She is dying."

"Keep her alive as long as possible, but try not to make her too comfortable. The Rangers will no doubt launch a rescue, and I want Phantom to see her in person when she dies."

* * *

"I'm sorry," T.J. said suddenly. He and Ch'heeka were sitting against opposite walls in the engine room. 

"For what?"

"Your wrist. I'm sorry I hurt you, I didn't know who you were."

"That's okay," the alien responded lightly, "I probably shouldn't have grabbed you like that."

"So, how did you get involved in this?"

"Well, I was investigating one of Dark Specter's compounds when I saw Phantom."

"He didn't have his invisibility on?"

"I guess he was trying to conserve energy or something. Anyway, I thought he was evil and I jumped on his back. He let me think I had him for a few minutes before throwing me off. He's an amazing warrior."

"Yeah, he is. I guess that's why they call him a living legend. But that doesn't explain why you were fighting Dark Specter. I thought most people in your galaxy just rolled over when he showed up."

"Most did, but my people didn't. For that our home world was bombed repeatedly. It's nothing but rock now, no life left. What's left of my people have mostly gone into hiding."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is," T.J. said certainly. "I was the Red Ranger of Earth. It was my job to stop the vast majority of Dark Specter's followers, and I failed. My entire team lost their powers and our only option was to convince our government that we now needed their help, without worrying them of course, so that we could get a space shuttle and head into space. Do you have any idea how limited Earth's space technology is? The odds of us getting anywhere were so small…. One of my team stayed behind, gave up the fight. But then I always thought he was too young. I had inherited him from the old Red Ranger, he had been a Ranger almost from the beginning and I couldn't just kick the boy off the team when someone that experienced had accepted him. And then we got out here, on this ship, and I became the Blue Ranger."

"What's wrong with that?"

"The Blue Ranger is traditionally the second in command. It was like a slap in the face, to go from Red to Blue. Like the universe was punishing me for my mistakes."

The engine room was silent for a few moments. "What mistakes?"

"What?"

"You lead a team of what are regarded as young people into space and managed to get in a better position to fight your enemies than you had before. You got rid of the annoying boy without even trying. You even managed to adapt to technology that your society is not yet familiar with. You have done amazing things. And," she added wryly, "you managed to hold your own against one of the greatest warriors in the Cerxus Galaxy."

"Hold my own? I think I did more than that."

"Really? I seem to recall you being thrown into a tree."

"I don't. But I do remember landing a punch or two."

"Like a silly little Terran boy could."

"I'll show you 'silly little Terran boy,'" T.J. challenged.

"Now?" Ch'heeka countered.

"Now. There's plenty of room in the observatory."

"Let's go."

The two warriors quickly moved down the hall and to the open elevator shaft at the end of the hall, climbing up the ladder at the side of the shaft.

Zordon chuckled from the cryo room, having heard the exchange. "YOUNG LOVE, I HAVE MISSED IT."

* * *

"Ashley?" Andros asked gently, moving some stray locks of hair away from her face. 

"Hmm?" Ashley asked. The two were lying on their backs in the observatory, enjoying the quiet that came from being at the top level of the ship.

"You need to not be asleep for this."

"For what? It's just the same kaleidoscope of colors has been going past for the last half hour."

"Not that, what I'm about to tell you."

Ashley's eyes shot open, a frightened expression on her face. "We are not breaking up," she said firmly.

"But—"

"I don't care what you have to say. The bottom line is that we're not breaking up. That is final."

"Okay," Andros said slowly. "I was just going to ask how you got out of the room in Garthon's temple—why did you think we were going to break up?"

Ashley grinned sheepishly. "The last time you were all mind-altered you ended up thinking we couldn't be together."

"Yes, and you told me that we could. I believe you, I always will."

"Good, even though you did avoid me for months afterward." Ashley sighed, making herself comfortable in Andros' arms again.

"Ashley," Andros sighed sternly, "you still have to tell me how you got out of the room. It was locked from the outside."

"I used telekinesis," Ashley said smugly.

"Really?" Andros asked, his voice high with child-like giddiness.

"Yes, now lay back down. I want to take a nap before we take on Dark Specter."

"Fine," Andros said. "But once this is over you're going to practice more."

"Yes mother," Ashley said sarcastically.

"So, I guess there isn't a lot of room in the observatory," Ch'heeka's voice came from the doorway, startling the two Rangers.

"Hi," Ashley said, rubbing her head. Andros had stood up at record speed, leaving her to fall back onto the floor.

"Sorry," Andros whispered.

"We're sorry," T.J. said, "we just wanted to spar."

"Now?" Ashley asked. "We're about to fight like a million Quatrons."

The two both became very sheepish suddenly and Ashley grinned.

"Just go get some rest like everyone else," Andros ordered, sitting back down.

"They like each other," Ashley proclaimed once she was sure they were out of earshot.

"I know, let's just hope they realize it without an alternate reality."

"Yeah," Ashley agreed, looking up at the kaleidoscope of color.

* * *

"It took you long enough," Phantom said before DECA could even announce his communication. 

"Sorry," Andros said, "we had to make some modifications to the ship."

"What kind of modifications?" Phantom asked and Ashley couldn't help but notice how tired he sounded. She thought back to how little she had slept while Andros was missing only a few days earlier.

"Zordon insisted on coming," T.J. said.

"Oh," Phantom said quietly. "Does anyone have a plan?"

The Rangers all looked at each other, they had expected him to have one.

"Actually," Karone said, "I do."


	15. Chapter 15 Escape

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers.

Author's Note 1: Okay, in the last chapter T.J. made mention of not liking having Justin on the team, and here I am to clarify since it seems to have irked some people. While I personally never liked Justin (and had Andros say he never did in BCWYWF, so this attitude should not come as a surprise), T.J. did, just not as a Ranger. Justin was a kid and the extra responsibility of having a kid fighting in the battle would have been hard for any leader. Ch'heeka just voiced my own opinion that Justin was annoying.

Author's Note 2: Now that that's taken care of... There's only one chapter left so I hope you like it, and... um... well, I'm sorry. Really, the ending (to this chapter) just sort of happened while I was writing. Now go off and enjoy!

**When It Rains… **

**Chapter 15 - Escape**

"Astronema," Dark Specter said when he saw the young woman's image over the comm. link, "or should I say Karone?"

"Either will do nicely Dark Specter," Karone said confidently.

"Were you hoping to be accepted back into the fold?"

"No," Karone laughed, "I'm here to accept you into mine. You see: I've been busy while you were gone. I managed to trick those pesky Rangers I was good while they got rid of all the competition for me. Now I'm the evil leader of the Milky Way."

"I don't believe it," Divatox cried.

"Quiet!" Dark Specter snapped. "Tell me more."

* * *

"It's working," Zhane muttered.

"What, did you think your girlfriend would let you down?" Carlos asked, moving slowly through the sewer.

"No, I just don't like that it's so easy for people to accept her as being evil again."

"Don't worry," Ashley whispered from up ahead, "it's just an act."

"I know that," Zhane snapped, "but it's still annoying."

"Quiet!" Andros called back. "We're here." He slowly reached up and opened the shaft above him.

* * *

"Dolly?" a small voice asked.

"Parix," Cassie smiled as light washed into the small room. She didn't bother standing, not wanting to waste the energy.

"How did you know it was me?" the man asked, closing the door behind him and turning on a hand lantern.

"You're the only one here who would call me that."

"Oh. What would the others call you?"

"'Power Brat,' maybe."

"I mean, what's your real name?"

"Cassie, Cassie Chan," she winced, feeling one of her injuries flare up at the movement of her lungs. She shifted her position, trying to ease the pain in her shackled wrists. "I'm the Pink Astro Ranger, though you've probably heard that by now."

"So Dolly Levi was just…"

"Was just a name I used to get information. It was the name of a character in one of my favorite musicals as a kid," Cassie continued wistfully. "There was this song called 'Hello Dolly.' I thought it would be funny when people said that to me."

"And it always was, you always smiled."

"Yeah."

"You were looking for Zordon."

Cassie frowned, so they were back to reality then. "Yes."

"I was just a pawn."

"I didn't mean for you to be. You were nice Parix, nicer than a lot of guys that came in there. You just happened to be the one who knew where he was."

"Did you ever…?"

"No," Cassie said, realizing what he meant. "The invisible man, he and I are together."

"Ah, mystery."

"Yeah," Cassie smiled, thinking back on her original attraction, "among other things. I'm sorry Parix."

"So am I." Parix raised a blaster, aimed directly at Cassie. "So am I."

* * *

"Okay," Carlos called over the din, knocking a Quatron back into the wall, "so we've locked the hallway down, successfully keeping the Quatrons from spreading word of our presence, but how do we get to Cassie?"

"You don't!" a voice from above called.

"Cassie!" Phantom's voice was positively ecstatic. Cassie dropped down from the ventilation shaft and into Phantom's waiting arms as the other Rangers formed a protective barrier around the two. "Here," Airek said gently, handing her her morpher.

"Thank you," Cassie said, morphing in his arms and resting her helmet against his.

"Hey! Did we forget about me?" an unfamiliar voice called.

"Who is this?" Zhane asked, catching the man in his arms.

"This is Parix, he freed me."

"Then I owe you a great debt," Phantom said, setting Cassie down.

Parix looked from him to Cassie and back. "Get me out of this galaxy, and we'll call it even."

"Guys!" T.J. called over his shoulder just as Ch'heeka yelled, "Gentlemen!" The two sent each other smiles.

"I think that means we need to get out of here," Carlos yelled.

"Definitely," Ashley seconded.

"Then let's move!" Andros yelled. "No point in being cautious now. DECA, teleport nine! Now!"

During Andros' call to DECA Ch'heeka turned to T.J. "Thirty-seven."

T.J. knocked a Quatron back just as the transport overtook him. "Thirty-eight."

* * *

"I cannot believe we made it," Carlos sighed, falling into his seat on the bridge as they entered the wormhole. He had been too full of adrenaline during the race towards it to sit down.

"I knew we would," Zhane said, pulling Karone close.

"How?" T.J. asked.

"Because it was Karone's plan."

T.J. and Carlos groaned.

"Come on," Ashley said, pulling Andros out of his seat.

"What? Where?" the Red Ranger asked tiredly.

"To the jump bay. I refuse to practice my telekinesis on an empty stomach and I'm sure," she sent a meaningful look at Carlos, "that there is food left from the last wormhole trip."

"There is," Carlos said, as if insulted that she would even suggest he had eaten it all.

"Let's go," Karone said, pulling Zhane out of the room as well.

"Where?" the Silver Ranger questioned, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"To talk to Zordon."

Zhane groaned, he did not want to celebrate defeating their greatest enemy by talking to an old guy.

"Why did Zordon insist on coming anyway?" T.J. asked. "He just stayed on the ship."

"I can answer that," Alpha said.

"Alpha!" Carlos accused, "you're supposed to be offline while we're in the wormhole."

"Don't worry, I'll power down in a minute. Zordon just thought you'd like to know what he did."

"What?" T.J. asked.

"He sent an energy wave at Dark Specter's fleet as we entered the wormhole. It should have wiped out the fleet and destroyed Dark Specter's forces throughout the Cerxus Galaxy."

"Wow," Carlos marveled. "Where'd he get the power for that?"

Alpha seemed to hesitate, but he was answered when Karone and Zhane raced onto the bridge. "Zordon's gone!" Karone cried.

"His tube's been shattered."

Ch'heeka sunk into one of the seats. "The interphasic shield," she said softly.

"What?" T.J. asked.

"She's right," Karone said. "Why didn't I see it?"

"Would someone please explain to me what's going on?" Carlos demanded.

"The shield," Zhane explained, "it emits a slight sound wave, but since it is used on space ships it usually doesn't cause any problems. But in the wormhole there was air, some form of it anyway. The vibrations don't affect humans or even most solid objects but…"

"But they could affect an interdimensional shield," Karone finished.

"He knew," Ch'heeka said, "he knew that when we reentered the wormhole the shock of the vibration coming back would be enough to finally break through his shield."

"He had me open the cargo bay doors to let it out and close them afterward so that DECA wouldn't have to remain online in the wormhole," Alpha said. "He didn't want to endanger your lives further."

Ch'heeka stood quickly and hurried from the room. Alpha sighed and powered down. Parix sighed and walked out, he hadn't known Zordon, but he had seemed nice enough.

"I-I'll go tell Andros and Ashley," Zhane choked.

"I'll come with you," Carlos said.

"What about Cassie and Phantom?" Karone asked when they had left.

"They were behind us," T.J. said. "They would have felt the blast."

"Why didn't we?" Karone asked.

"Maybe we did," T.J. said. "But most of it would have gone out towards the evil. I know Zordon well enough to know he would have sent it that way. Anything that was released into the ship would have been barely noticeable and with the battle and the power going off and entering the wormhole, I doubt any of us would have noticed."

Karone nodded, hugging her knees to her chest. "You should go after Ch'heeka."

"Why me?"

"Because you like her, and she likes you," Karone answered matter-of-factly. "You should go."

"Are you gonna be okay?"

Andros walked into the room just then and took his sister in his arms. T.J. nodded, no longer needing an answer.

* * *

Author's Note 3: After the review I got for Justin bashing I feel I must say "I love you, Zordon!" Really, I love him, I didn't even watch LG at first because I didn't understand how the show could exist without him, and then I moved on. I didn't think Zordon was going to die until it happened, really, I didn't. I was all psyched for him to survive and go back to being all mentor-ey. Okay, go and be mad at me in your review.  



	16. Chapter 16 Onward

Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers.

Author's Note: Well, here it is, the last chapter of When It Rains. And to mark the occasion I have corrupted my 7 year old brother and finally gotten him to like PR. My mother is going to kill me. But at least I'll have reviews to look forward to! I hope you enjoy!

**When It Rains… **

**Chapter 16 - Onward**

"He knew," Ch'heeka said when T.J. stopped at the observatory door.

"Yeah," the former Red Ranger said, sitting down next to her.

"Why would he do it? Why would he let us make the shield like that if he knew?"

"Because he knew we wouldn't kill him." Ch'heeka looked at him sharply and he explained. "A while back Andros made this wish that changed reality. I'll tell you the whole story some time but the point is in the end of all of it Zordon ordered Andros to kill him, to smash his tube in order to release all that good energy and dispel the bad. Andros did it, and I don't think he or any of us could do it again if we knew. When we came back from all of that I think we all promised ourselves that we'd do everything in our power to keep that from happening to him again."

"But why would he make us do it? Why would he make us construct the means of his destruction? And for that?"

"For what?" T.J. asked, putting her first question aside for the moment.

"For- for my galaxy. They just rolled over and accepted Dark Specter, it doesn't make any sense."

"Zordon dedicated his life to stopping evil. People often let evil win, not knowing that it's evil. Many of those people probably thought that they were doing good by letting him win because they were keeping their families and children alive."

"Why did he make us do it?"

T.J. sighed. "Because he couldn't do it himself. Because he knew that if he simply ordered us to kill him, we wouldn't. We wouldn't be willing to do that."

Ch'heeka leaned onto T.J.'s shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her. They stayed like that for a very long time.

* * *

"Hey," Leslie said.

"Hey," Carlos replied, motioning for her to take a seat in the grass beside him.

"I didn't think you'd be here," Leslie said after a moment of watching the water lap against the shore.

"Oh," Carlos said sadly.

"Not that I didn't want to see you," Leslie amended quickly. "I thought you'd be off in space, fighting evil."

"Nope, evil's all taken care of."

"Really?"

"Yup. Why did you come here, if not to see me?"

"This was the last place I saw you, other than the hospital and I didn't think it would be too romantic to hang around there."

"No, I suppose not."

They lapsed into silence for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts and the beauty of the day.

"So, can we try?"

"Are you sure you want to? I mean, I do have this condition where the instincts, strength, and speed of a lizard monster may come out at any minute."

"Well, this is Angel Grove," Leslie said, taking his hand, "I'm sure there have been stranger couples."

Carlos laughed. "You have no idea."

"Tell me then," Leslie asked. "Come on, what's the point in dating a Power Ranger if I don't get any amazing stories about the supernatural?"

Carlos pulled his hand away and put it to his chest in mock shock and hurt, "Isn't my company enough?"

"I don't know," Leslie said slowly.

Carlos jumped forward and splashed water from the lake on her.

"Ah!" she cried when the cold hit her. She sat still for a moment, too shocked by his action to move, before rushing forward and splashing him back. Soon the two were knee deep in the lake and soaking wet and still going at it.

"That's so cute," Ashley said. She and Andros were walking on a hill overlooking most of the lake.

"T.J. and Ch'heeka seem to be getting along pretty well too," Andros said as they turned and walked further on. "T.J. just asked me if he could leave us for a few weeks before school starts to help Ch'heeka get her galaxy back on track. And Parix seems to be adapting rather well to life on Aquitar."

"Yeah," Ashley sighed. "Jeff's gone off to fight evil somewhere in the universe, Zhane and Karone have gone to help rebuild KO-35 now that Dark Specter's not coming back, Cassie and Phantom are still on Eltaire, who knew that Phantom and Zordon were related?"

"I didn't. Apparently Phantom is the eldest living descendant of Zordon's brother or cousin or something like that. Anyway, now Phantom is in charge of all Zordon's affairs."

"Who knew Zordon had affairs like a normal person?" Ashley asked sadly. "There's so little any of us knew about him."

The two walked in silence for several minutes before Ashley picked up a piece of trash and threw it in the garbage twenty feet away.

"You shouldn't do that where people can see," Andros chided.

"It was all gross and soggy, I didn't want to touch it."

"You are a very silly Yellow Ranger." Andros pulled her into his arms, holding her tight.

"And you are a very strange Red Ranger." Ashley returned, placing her own arms around his neck and bringing her mouth to his.

"Now that we have that settled," Andros said, releasing her, "let's go get some Chinese."

* * *

A special thanks to all who reviewed: Phantom Rogue, Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow (you can guess which part of this chapter was added just for you), SweetSas, MackenzieW, Lady Kimiko, Star Fata, DizneeDol, Arwennicole, Sasja, and even Adam. Thank you all and I'm glad you enjoyed it!  



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